No Hablo Espanol...

Our love for, and interest in, horses has allowed us to cross paths with people from different backgrounds, races, and cultures. As a result, we have had the privilege of becoming friends with families from Zacatecus, Mexico. I was honored at the way they introduced us to their culture, and welcomed us as if we were part of the family. We even hosted a coleaderos, or rodeo, at our ranch. The more we got to know the families, the more I understood the difficulties they faced daily regarding the language barrier. Most of the women in their culture did not speak any English, so Spanish was almost always the language used at home. Also, even the men and children who spoke very good English often did not read or write, not only in English, but also in Spanish.

As a result, when I began working in a middle school who had a Hispanic population of 45%, I was not surprised at how difficult it was for these children to speak English, and then have to learn new material in English as well. My husband and I have been in the situation where we cannot understand the dominant language in a group of people, and it is a very helpless feeling. As a result, I feel that experience has made me more empathetic to the English language learners in my classroom.

The Literacy of the Horse

My husband and I have 8 horses. If we were to mention to someone that our horses could read, they would immediately think we are lying, or have a horse with super-natural powers. Horses surely cannot read. Or can they...

Horses are prey animals, meaning they do not hunt, but are hunted. Their survival, like any prey animal, depends on their ability to interpret and react with their environment. In other words, they must be able to read what is happening around them. Likewise, being horse owners, our safety in dealing with these 800-1100 pound animals requires us to learn to speak and understand the horse language. We have had to educate ourselves on the meaning of their movements and body language, and them with us. For example, when a horse pins back their ears, such as Kate is illustrating, that is a sign of disapproval. It could mean you are standing too close, they don't like the saddle, or they want the rest of the herd to stay away from their pile of hay.

Horses are also masters at reading our body language. They notice if you are confident or timmid by the way you approach them. Horses can also sense if you are relaxed or tense. Some trainers have said that the horse goes where the eyes go, so look forward if you want them to move! When we focus in a certain direction, all our senses and muscles adjust to that focus, and horses pick up on all those tiny clues are body gives. In other words, they are reading us.

A Book to Remember

Titanic. Most people immediately have an image in their mind of the most luxurious ocean vessel of her time, and whose maiden voyage, as well as 1500 of her passenger's lives, ended tragically in the frigged North Atlantic. I, like millions of people around the world, were moved by James Cameron's movie depiction of the events leading to the sinking of the Titanic. So after seeing the movie 7 times in the theater, 2 of which by myself, I wanted to know the real Titanic story, which could only be explored through books.

I began my literacy journey with "A Night to Remember" by Walter Lord, followed by "The Night Lives On..." by the same author. I can't remember all the titles I read, or their significance to the historical account of the sinking, but after being completely hooked by the movie, I read no fewer than 12 books on the subject, and visited the Titanic traveling exibit at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry.

A struggling writer

Upon entering college, the course I was most looking forward to getting past was Elementary Composition I. Bring on Calculus, Economics and Accounting, but I did not want to write. I struggled my last year in high school writing my research paper, and as a result, didn't get a very good grade on that assignment. That was just one paper, but now I had to take a class where all I did was write papers. I didn't know how I was going to get through that semester with a decent grade for that course.

But that feeling soon changed, thanks to the Grad Student teaching my class. She let us write about anything we wanted, and did not require us to use diagrams, or a minimum number of sources. I still struggled writing my first paper for that class, but I got an A on the assignment! I had never gotten outstanding marks on writing assignments! She helped me open up to a form of expression that had always been foreign to me. But now I was learning to use the written word to organize thoughts and feelings, just as I had used the rules of the order of operations to make sense of math problems. That specific instructor made a significant, positive inpact on not just my college career, but my attitude towards writing forever.

The 1st Book I ever "Read"

Immediately after college, I didn't want to read anything. After 16 years of reading what others had told me to, I didn't want to read at all. I had gotten a job, my own place, and my adult life had begun. Then something strange happened... I got bored. I was working my job, taking care of business, but in my down time, I didn't have much to do. My coworker read all the time. She had read so many books, I doubt she could remember them all. I loved listening to her talk about the stories she experienced, and her enthusiasm as she chose her next book to immerse herself into.

Hoping to experience some of that excitement myself, I read "The Lords of Discipline" by Pat Conroy. What a wonderful experience! For the first time I could remember, I felt as though I was experiencing the story as it was being told. This epiphany could be explained by many factors: Was it the author's skill at telling a story? Was it the fact that I wanted to emulate my coworker and mentor? Was it where I was in life, and reading filled a void? Perhaps all three. However, even though I had read books in high school and college that I enjoyed, I believe that this book was the first book I ever truly read.