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Sanford 1

Elizabeth Sanford

Professor Jan Rieman

English 1103

September 15, 2011

Reading down the Slip N Slide of Life

Books have always played a huge role in my life, whether I realized it at the time or not.

They, and those who introduced me to them, are the landmarks on my learning journey. Even

though I was occasionally my own inhibitor, with help from my mother, brother and a more

mature version of myself, I essentially learned how to read and ultimately how to learn.

Growing up, my mother read to me every night, nurturing my love for books and

throughout my life she influenced me to become the excellent reader and student I am today.

Most people think that means that she made me read for a certain amount of time each day and

forced me to sit down in a quiet place to get my homework done. My upbringing was quite the

opposite, actually. My parents never pushed me to read, study, complete my homework or get

good grades. I can hear the gasps now; What horrible parents! What wonderful parents!

Although slightly unorthodox, the fact that my parents did this made me work harder for my own

satisfaction. They were happy as long as I was trying my hardest and I was happy when I could

push my hardest farther and far ther, to excel at greater levels. I grew into a competitive, self-

motivated person who completed my assignments and received the highest grades because I

wanted to. I also did not have a negative attitude toward schoolwork like most my age, because I

was never forced to do any of it. I learned because I wanted to.


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As I got older, my older brother, Clark, became a strong influence. I guess you could call

him the perfect child , as he was almost prodigal; he could list and spell the names of all the

dinosaurs and recite timetables by the first grade. It was obvious from a very early age that he

was above average and I wanted to be just like him.

Summer days were filled with playing on the swing set and riding bikes around our

neighborhood, but whenever it rained, we would take advantage of that time by reading inside. I

remember the first time we ever did this, my elementary-school-age self was mildly confused.

Well yeah, its raining right now, but you want to spend all day just reading? Its going

to take you forever to read those! And what if it stops raining? Can we go play outside then? I

complained to my brother. Although I loved reading, it paled in comparison to bike-riding and

basketball-playing; the rain never let up though, so I picked up a book, settled into my spot on

the couch and began a new journey. That particular day we tried to make a dent in our favorite

series, The Bailey School Kids and The Magic Tree House. They were short chapter books,

maybe one hundred pages each, and we could get through six or seven in one day, but I wanted

more. I still loved to play outside, but reading gradually started to outweigh other activities like

video games and television watching.

Through the Accelerated Reader program at our elementary school, students could read

books from the library, take quizzes on them and earn points depending on the score received.

Although competitive, I did not try to read an excessive amount of books just to gain points.

While some kids went out of their way to earn as many points as possible, I still read simply

because I desired to, not because I had an ulterior motive. I would take the A.R. quizzes when I

finished each book, though, and somehow my brother and I became the top two point-earners in


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the entire school. This rewarded us with various prizes over our elementary school careers, such

as a scooter with red handle bars and a Toys R Us gift card, which we used to buy a Slip N

Slide .

Now we could spend those non-rainy summer days having a blast and cooling off from

the heat. Who would have thought sliding down a long wet piece of tarp could bring such joy?

My brother and I showed off our new Slip N Slide to the other kids in the neighborhood,

beaming with pride. My third grade self thought we were the coolest cats on the block.

Reading brought me such joy in those days, both immediate and long-term.

Peer pressure used to negatively influence me as a young child and I too often cared what

others thought. One specific instance in Kindergarten is still clear in my mind to this day. My

teacher, Mrs. Pickard, gave us individual reading comprehension tests by having each student

come to her desk and read a few lines to her from various levels of books. When it was my turn,

we started with a simple picture-filled book, which I read with ease and gradually moved up

levels. You know what? Im going to go get you something else. She went behind her desk and

retrieved a chapter book with a horse on the front, certainly a higher level than anything I had

just read to her.

Have you read something like this before? she asked. I shook my head.

No, but my brother reads those. I replied.

She told me that all I had to do was try, so I went for it. Even though, there were a few

unfamiliar words, I read the first paragraph and told her what I thought it meant afterward. She

seemed impressed, but I was not sure why.


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The next day, I arrived at school to find a pile of Nancy Drew books sitting on my desk.

What are those?other kids questioned. Why does Elizabeth have big books on her desk and

we dont?

Take these home, Mrs. Pickard whispered in my ear, I think youll like them. I

remember the embarrassing feeling of having the other students stare at me. I did not take them

with me; nobody else in my class was reading those kinds of books and I did not want to be

different. No thanks, Mrs. Pickard. Those are too hard for me. I lied, knowing I had similar

books at home that I was capable of reading.

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