WHEN THE READING LIGHT WENT ON

When I really began reading much more on my own, in a more consistent way, was when I went to college at St. Mary’s in Moraga.

College stands out for me because I had some teachers I identified as being active and concerned about social justice who said, “Here are some great books.” They made a connection between what I liked and books.

A lot of the readings that I started picking up at that time were not necessarily a particular author, as much as they related to contemporary social justice issues or labor issues. Those are the sorts of subjects that turned me on to reading.

My parents spoke Spanish and very, very little English. We were migrant farm workers so we would go to a minimum of one different school every year. Sometimes it was a couple of schools a year. We didn’t have the consistency in any one school to develop the relationships with the teachers. I don’t remember a teacher having really challenged me to do a whole lot, to find an interest in reading.

Up until high school, I didn’t read a lot, and I think that now it’s sort of come back. I have learned that if I had done a whole lot more reading when I was younger and growing up, I would not have had the problems with writing when I went away to college. I just wouldn’t have been so afraid of it.

I’m hoping that the more I can get my kids to like reading . . . it’ll make it easier for them not to be afraid to write.

With my son [who is 8], I’m able to teach values through reading that I think are important without sitting there and preaching and sermonizing.

I found a children’s version of Bible stories and--though I don’t consider myself actively religious--I find that there are really good stories from this book that talk about sharing and caring and how you treat people who are less well-off than you are.