Skiing Literacy

Skiing Literacy

When I find myself with some free time on my hands, one of my favorite things to do is to ski. I started skiing when I was eight years old. My parents are both skiers and they wanted their children to be able to enjoy the same sport they loved. My first day skiing was at White Face Mountain in Lake Placid, New York. I remember my parents dropping off me, my six year old brother and my four year old sister to ski school, while they headed up the mountain to ski the harder trails. I still recall trying to ski for the first time. I remember in the first hour skiing I spent more time on the ground then on the skis from constantly falling. Like anything else, I learned to ski one step at a time. The instructor first took my siblings and me to the small magic carpet area, where you stand on a platform that sends you up to a small hill on the bottom of the mountain. Once we got to the top, the instructor helped us to learn the basic skills of skiing, including how to brake, steer and turn. We did this same small run a few times until we were ready to take the ski lift to the bunny trails. These trails are for beginners, but are still much more advanced than the magic carpet trail we started on. Once again I can recall spending plenty of time fallings, and at some points I was exhausted and felt ready to give up. However, my instructor pushed us to keep going, and by the end of the day I was able to run a full bunny hill trail without falling. The next day we went back to the mountain and were put in ski school once again so my parents could ski the more advanced trails. The second day was easier than the first, and by the end I was able to ski all three trails on the bunny hill with ease. On our third day at White Face Mountain, I was even able to take an additional ski lift up the mountain and ski my first green trail.

Since this vacation that I had as an eight year old third grade student, I am now able to ski well without any instruction. I would say that I am literate when it comes to skiing. I have skied at least once a year since my initial time skiing. Since skiing is an expensive hobby, I usually only go once or twice a year. However, I am still able to ski well even though I do not regularly practice skiing. At this point in my life, it is something that just comes natural to me. I know how to shift my weight in order to turn, how to turn my toes inward in order to slow down, how to use my poles in order to change directions quickly, how to position my feet parallel to each other in order to go faster, how to get off the ski lift without falling, how to read the mountain map to distinguish the difficulty level of each trial, how to rent skis that are the perfect size for my body, how to quickly pop my skis on and off when needed, etc. I have learned all these things and more from the times I have spent skiing at numerous mountains in New England. My parents have influenced me to ski initially, and also continue to influence and support my love of skiing. Just next week I will be joining my parents, siblings, and cousins to ski up in New Hampshire for the day. On this trip I will also be teaching my cousin’s wife how to ski, since it will be here first time. This sport has positively influenced my life because it is one of the few hobbies I have that I share with my entire family. Every year I look forward to our family day of skiing and it brings us closer together as a family. For spring break this semester I plan on going skiing with my mother, just as we did last spring break. I plan on skiing for the rest of my life, just as my parents have.

I think my experiences skiing have influenced my point of view as a future teacher. When I first started skiing I found it very difficult. If it was not for my ski instructor pushing me to keep going, then I probably would have given up. The hatred and stress I had for skiing on my first day is present for other people in different fields of study. My first bad experiences of falling shaped the way I thought of skiing as a whole until I was pushed and eventually able to improve. I believe some people hold this same negative outlook on school, or specific subjects that they may have had bad experiences with in the past. As a teacher, I want to be able to push these students and show them the beauty in English, or writing, or school, or whatever they are having a difficult time enjoying. I want to be there for them to help them and push them to be successful just as my ski instructor did for me. If I had giving up skiing after that first day I would not have a passionate hobby today and I would not have all the great memories of skiing with my family and friends. I want to be that teacher who can show students that working and learning in school does not always have to be a bad experience. I hope I can help my students to have positive experiences in my classroom, which will stick with them for years to come just as skiing has for me.