A.1 Interview with another person who knows you well-for example, a parent or other family member, close friend, or teacher. The interview should focus on the person's impressions of your development as a reader, writer, and thinker. If you have completed an interview like this in a prior class, please pick a different person to interview for this assignment.
It was not very hard to find someone who has seen me grow as a reader, writer and thinker. I chose Marilyn, my mother, who has been with me all my life. It was awkward interviewing her because we have experienced almost everything in my life together and I thought I already knew her perspective. However, I thought some of the things she remembered were not important, but to her, it really showed how much I had grown. When we discussed my growth in reading she immediately thought back to when I was in kindergarten. She said the teacher assigned me as her helper because I could already read fairly well. I didn't even remember this but she was very candid about my school grade years. She said I had a very high comprehension reading level in first and second grade and at the end of second grade I was given some type of advancement test. The next year I started fourth grade instead of third grade. From what I rememWhen we talked about writing, she pulled on a specific memory from when I was in seventh grade. She reminded me of the poem I wrote about our cat that won first place in the school's poetry contest. It is interesting that she sees me as a poet because I see myself very differently. I write in journals about my feelings and thoughts and sometimes I compose a poem but I never thought of myself as a poet.
A.2 Reflections on your own development with respect to reading, writing, speaking and listening, and technology.
I have a keen interest in the study of social issues that is reflected in my personal reading list as well as my writing. As both a mother and a hopeful educator, I am especially interested in the concerns of children and how they are affected by our culture and our "cyber-culture". I am very comfortable with computers but still eager to learn more about the history and prospects of computers in society. I enjoy reading outside of the academic environment.