Discussion of Grandmother Interview
First of all, I have to say that interviewing my grandmother was an amazing experience. She is a quirky person, very witty, and getting to hear about her literacy history helped me to realize that she was always been that way. For example, when she talked about learning how to read See Jane, and having to practice it repetitively before going on to learn “See Jane Run.” She commented that some of the boys never even learned how to “See Jane!” This is an example of her humor.
Learning about the book that she wrote nearly broke my heart. She and I have always had a literary connection–we are the “readers” of the family. The fact that she would throw away her book before I had a chance to read it was heartbreaking! I thought I was going to cry when she told me she threw it away. She said that it was a funny book. I would have loved to read about her experience in beauty school. I still cannot believe she did that!
As my grandmother described her experience in education I immediately thought of Paolo Friere’s “Banking Concept of Education.” She kept saying that both her reading and writing education was repetition. She also said that she didn’t learn how to sound out words. Education trends have changed so much over time. I did learn how to sound out words, but I think even now that is no longer the standard teachers use to teach children how to read. When I think closely about how my grandmother learned to read, I can see how that method has translated into other aspects of her life. She is a very practical person–no frills. This is how we could describe her reading and writing education–no frills, very practical.
This might seem silly, but I thought it was hilarious that my grandmother said she didn’t have “overly sharp teachers” in her school! Most children think their teachers, especially their elementary school teachers, hung the moon, but apparently my grandmother thought differently. As I mentioned above, she has a wit about her that is quite humorous at times. I know that neither my mother nor I would have made a comment like that. Perhaps age causes you to share more truths that you would at a younger age.
It makes me sad to know that my grandmother’s health is keeping her from reading. I have watched her read my entire life–she influenced me to read. It is something that we’ve always had in common. Years ago, our family had a large garden, and we would all get together to work in it. She and I hated gardening, so we’d sit in a car with the windows down or in a lawn chair and read while the rest of the family gardened. When I was in middle school and high school, she would let me borrow her Stephen King books and we would talk about books we had both read. She used to go through seasons–in the summer she would read and in the winter she would watch movies. Now, she does neither as much as she used to.
