My Schooling History
Raised in a small town called Bundaberg, I attended fairly good schools throughout my life. I attended primary school at the small Lutheran school and for high school I went to a Catholic school. Both of these schools where well structured and catered to my needs a student really well. I consistently achieved good grades in both primary and high school, and was often rewarded each year by receiving academic awards or subject awards for the high marks and effort I put in. I have always been very driven in my studies, which no doubt assisted me in achieving the marks that I did. I enjoyed learning and was often intrigued by the learning and exploring we did.
My primary school only had one stream of classes meaning that I was in the same mixed ability group class the whole way through. Common literacy practices that I engaged with included reading rotations, sight words, handwriting, silent and class reading, and punctuation and grammar. These activities allowed me to start to develop the basic knowledge’s of literacy that are vital for understanding, interpreting and creating meaning in all parts of life. As I continued through primary school, our learning was carefully built on each year which helped us to expand and also refine our knowledge so that we better understood all we had learnt and how we could apply it. I was also a high level reader from a young age, and was often told I was very creative and inquisitive.
One of the most memorable assessment tasks I completed in primary school was the creation of a short story book. This book was to be made with our buddies in mind and had to contain both the narrative and illustrations. I was very excited by this task and worked hard to produce a fantastic story that my buddy would love. This task was also an effective way of developing contexts and literacy skills as we had to think of what our buddy would be interested in rather than ourselves. We then made meaning through our writing and illustrations which helped to express our thoughts about anothers interests. Overall, the learning environment provided by my primary school helped to strengthen this as saw me very interested in and enjoying learning. As the school was quite small, the staff knew all the students by name and the community was very tight-knit. This helped me to feel comfortable and develop confidence in my abilities at an early age, meaning I was not deterred or disinterested by learning when I entered high school.
In secondary school I was still very academically driven and loved the challenges of learning I now faced. Although it was a bigger school, which was scary at first, I developed relationships and interests that helped me to continue to enjoy learning. I was exposed to a range of subjects, and therefore literacies, in my junior schooling here. After experience a diverse range of subjects and developing my skills and capacities to interpret and create meaning, I was able to choose subjects that really interested me. As part of my senior school studies I completed english, maths, religion, hospitality, information technology studies and biology. These subjects are quite diverse and equipped me with understanding across a range of curriculum and real world contexts. The school also had a large emphasis on developing critical thinking and problem solving skills in all subjects, and I feel this greatly helped me in developing skills that enabled me to critically analyse situations and create innovative solutions to problems I faced.
How Have my Experiences shaped my literacy practices today?
As a result of my schooling experience, I have developed a number of skills that allow me to interpret and make meaning in the world.
English and religion in particular helped me to develop critical awareness skills of the world around me and the importance of looking beyond our first impressions and the judging carefully the information that we are presented with everyday. The ethics in religion allowed me to become an adapted and aware citizen who was conscious of others and the impacts my decisions can have. English equipped me with skills that allowed me to analyse and evaluate texts, which is something that is critical for living in this world filled with online interactions and the media. These subjects, and the teachers that I had for them, have been a large influence on the practices I engage in today.
My other subjects also allowed me to develop skills that allow me to contribute to society and to make meaning. For example:
- Maths helped me to develop financial literacy and competencies in numeracy that are vital to getting by in life.
- Information technology studies provided me with better understandings of information processing and digital technology and allowed me to develop my creativity and capacity to create unique meanings
- Biology helped me to understand the functioning of the human body and the natural world, which allows me to understand better contexts related to health or the environment.
- Hospitality allowed me to develop communication skills and the ability to prepare food for diverse occasions.
The everyday practices (as seen in my post about my engagement with literacy) and the enjoyment I get from them has been influenced by my life experiences here. The contexts I find myself in today and the relationships I have stem from these encounters through life, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I have developed awareness and passion for the world that I would not have otherwise developed if my schooling had been different.
Ultimately, my schooling and education has shaped me and made me the person I am today, which is someone wants to persue university education in a career that enables me to help others and shape futures for the better.
Everyday Literacy 