Cultural Literacy Autobiography

I graduated from high school with a 1.45 grade point average. I will graduate this spring from Eastern Michigan University, with a BA in literature, with (fingers crossed) a 3.99 GPA. When I tell people this, I am always asked the same two questions: “how did that happen?” and “what changed?” I have different responses on different days, but two aspects of my answer always remain the same –a great high school AP English teacher named Dr. Colbertson, and a history and reputation of loving books.

My generation was not the generation of book lovers. We watched television, played video games, and we would much rather have gone tromping around outside, catching snakes and frogs, than sit inside the house and (sneer the word) read. By the time I made it to high school, boys, parties, and socializing replaced television and videogames –except, not in my case. When I was in the fourth grade I began to read the Laura Ingalls Wilder Little House on the Prairie series –or more accurately, my mother began to read them to me. I liked them. I mostly liked my mother’s attention, but they were okay. Then in fifth grade, I discovered E.B. White. I must have checked out Charlotte’s Web seven times that year. I devoured everything I could find that was written by E.B. White, and in the process I discovered two things. The first, books are infinitely better than television. T.V. was ruined for me. The second was that books offered me an escape from the harsh realities of everyday life. For a child who’s parents were going through a divorce, and struggled socially, books were best friends, they were the closest things to confidants, and they were a stable, unchanging exodus.

Fast forward six years. By the time I was a junior in high school I had already attended summer school four or five times (I can’t remember) for failing courses. I never ended up passing sophomore algebra (algebra 2). I really don’t know how they let me graduate from high school. My family always jokes that I owe my education to George W. Bush and the “No Child Left Behind” act. I was a lazy, uninterested student. I failed many of my courses and barely passed the rest. But I still loved reading. The books I read were trash –I loved trashy historical romance novels during my first two years of high school. The thing to note is that I read, no matter what it was, voraciously. I can remember having my books taken away from me by my parents on several occasions for getting bad grades. I also remember, time and again, when my two best friends would come over to get me, only to find me reading (with the firm intention to continue reading rather than socialize). I would inevitably be dragged out to some high school student’s parent’s house (who were most likely out of town), but I always managed to coerce my friends into letting me bring a book. I have literally gone purse shopping with my huge annotated copy of War and Peace, to make sure that the purse I got would be able to carry any of the books in my library. Little did my parents know, my rapacious love of reading would be the catalyst for a successful career path.

The first semester of my senior year I was called down to the counselor’s office. I honestly thought he was going to tell me that I would have to be held back a year. What he actually wanted was for me to create my senior schedule. I placed myself in all of the required classes, like math and physics. Then I chose some easy electives –jewelry design, ceramics, home economics (that was easy right?), a couple communications classes (all you have to do is talk about your feelings and you’ll get an A). And then I was asked what English class I would take. I hesitatingly elected to go into AP English, all the while thinking that my counselor would tell me (based on my grades) I would not be able to handle that class. He never did. I think he had simply given up on counseling me –we had a history, Mr. Van Black and I. Plus, I had very noble reasons for wanting to take AP English with Dr. Colbertson –a boy I was in love with was in the class, and if his opinion on Kate Chopin’s The Awakening was the closest thing I ever got to “intimate conversation” with him, well hey, that’s at least something.

I always knew that I was intelligent, but I had no clue that I could be “book smart.” I could talk circles around most anyone –I loved doing this with teachers. I don’t know that many of them necessarily enjoyed it, but hey, “life is tough…” and all that.  I was an arguer. I was funny. I was socially perceptive, although I tended to avoid social interaction as much as possible. I liked fictional people better than real people. This is not an uncommon trope among English majors. What I was unprepared for, was the energy and, I can’t call it anything but “sass,” of Dr. Colbertson. Not only did he enjoy my argumentative nature, he encouraged it. I was used to English and literature teachers who had a single view of a text, and if you challenged that view then you were seen as an aberrant student. This was not the case with Colbertson. He was interesting and interested in what I had to say. He gave us ways into critical conversation and taught us how to dismantle traditional arguments, he taught me how to write a paper (which I had never been taught to do), and he gave me one of the most important pieces of information I’ve ever received in regards to English majors. He told us that if you wanted to be good at analyzing Western literature, “you must know at least three things –Shakespeare, the Bible, and Greek/Roman mythology.” I have never forgotten that, and it has proven true in my academic experience. The kind of relational investment that Dr. Colbertson placed in individual students was extremely identity-forming and truly the most impactful aspect of his teaching method. All it took was a single great teacher to spark my intellectual curiosity and a modicum of academic confidence.

I slowly began branching out literarily. Although, my initial ties to reading were purely recreational they deeply impacted my interest in literature and history. I did independent research after reading to figure out which aspects of what I was reading were accurate. I do not believe that in order for a person to succeed academically, they need to know tons of references to “classical” works. Even more important than being able to reference an allusion to a well-known piece, is the ability to understand why something is important/relevant/interesting. Inevitably, an intelligent scholar will learn the references and works that they need to learn throughout their studies. Creativity, however, along with knowing how to ask good questions, and being analytical are things that the reading of any genre or class of literature can accomplish. Being culturally literate doesn’t exclusively encompass Literature (with the capital L), it also involves books like Twilight and The Hunger Games and franchises like Game of Thrones and Harry Potter. If you miss a Fifty Shades of Grey reference you’re just as out of the loop as someone who misses a reference to A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The goal of the Humanities fields is to offer society the truth (or an aspect of it). This appeals to a particular set of people.

The aesthetic and interpersonal appeal of the humanities fields offers creative and gifted children, who do not necessarily excel at the STEM subjects, a way into the academic world. Creativity, an analytic mind, and the ability to articulate are the most important aspects of all of the humanities fields. The ability to articulate (draw, paint, write, sculpt, etc.) can be taught. A creative and analytical mind are things that a child will or will not acquire, certainly with some help from outside influences, but ultimately on their own. They must pursue knowledge and information in their free time of their own free will. This is why the humanities are so vital to communities in which there is an academic crisis. They appeal to everyone and offer children who are otherwise considered academic failures a way into higher education.