George Wurtz reflects on his experiences with reading and writing from childhood through adulthood. He learned to read in Catholic grade school with an emphasis on order and correctness. In high school, he began to slack off on reading assignments. After dropping out of community college, he rediscovered the joy of reading through photography books and magazines. He went on to earn degrees in television production and worked in cable television for 17 years, writing scripts and reports. Now in graduate school to become a teacher, he finds writing challenging but hopes to continue improving his skills.

1. George Wurtz ITE 404_D Fall 2011
George Wurtz
Dr. Ellen Spitler
ITE 404D: Secondary Language Arts Methods
October 18, 2011
George Wurtz Author Autobiography
My Life Through Reading and Writing
- Preschool Through 8th Grade -
Growing up in the late fifties and early sixties was in my opinion the
perfect time for learning literacy skills. I’d have to say it may have been the
last great era for learning how to read and write. At the time it seemed as if
schools had a different focus, a simpler method to their madness. I learned
to read by first learning the ABC song, then phonemes, and finally short
words. Instruction was methodical and mostly by rote. Great pride was
taken in learning to read well andsuccess was expected.
While attending a Catholic grade school I learned the basics of
grammar and proper communication. An emphasis was placed on order and
“correctness” when reading, writing, and speaking in class. While it may not
have been pretty, it was understood and taken for granted that literacy was
a skill that every person must master; and at an early age. Since that time
teaching methods and theories have changed and yet, the desired result
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2. George Wurtz ITE 404_D Fall 2011
remains the same. Oddly enough, literacy rates have dropped since then
and worries over the illiterate in our society are increasing.
Reading and writing were taught in my K - 12 years in tiered
classrooms. Students were separated by their reading and writing abilities.
Every student knew who was in the advanced class and who was in the
“slow” class. By being placed in the average class I started to work harder.
There were always incentives to read better and faster. One particular
incentive that I remember was having the daily readers organized by colors.
Students had to work their way up to the “cooler” colors. The easiest books
were all primary colors and as the material grew more advanced, the book
colors proceeded through a variety of shades until you hit the “elite” pastels.
When you started on the pastel section you knew you had arrived. The
stories were more complex and interesting and as I advanced through the
levels my reading confidence and ability grew.
- High School Through Dropping out of College -
As a high school student I began to slack off. Texts were assigned in
language arts class and little leeway was given toward personal choice. Like
the typical adolescent I really didn’t appreciate adults telling me what to
read and what to think about. This teaching method was also a sign of the
times. High schools taught the canon of world, British, and American
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3. George Wurtz ITE 404_D Fall 2011
literature. While exposed to the literary classics, I often sped through them
taking little time to consider their actual meanings and messages. I knew
that the teacher would tell me what to think and how to feel when I got to
class. Besides, language arts classes consisted of little more than
regurgitating supposed facts and crucial points on cue for the tests. It was
during this time that I started reading less for fun and more for fulfilling
class requirements. Any reading I did on the side consisted of the daily
newspaper or a handful of magazines such as “Mad” magazine, “Sports
Illustrated” and of course the articles in “Playboy”.
When I graduated high school and proceeded to the local community
college my love for reading had vanished all together. The texts got bigger
and harder, while the fiction and the writing got more difficult and
impossible to keep up with. I had always had a pretty immature attitude
when it came to school and education and a year and a half of community
college did me in. I flunked out.
- A Change in Attitude and a Change in Latitude -
In the late 70’s while still living in Illinois, I chose a profession. I
became a photographer. Working as a construction laborer for a year will do
that to you. Being that young and faced with a lifetime of back-breaking
work I decided to try and get paid for doing my hobby. I started reading
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4. George Wurtz ITE 404_D Fall 2011
voraciously. I devoured picture books and biographies of the great
photography masters. I ate up magazines on photo tips and technique by
the dozens. The more I read the more I advanced as a photographer and as
a skilled professional.
As my curiosity for photography grew so did my desire for knowledge
in other areas of the humanities. I went back to college and started taking a
couple of night courses a semester. I made up the failed grades from my
previous college start and was on the way to doing quite well in school. I
learned that all I had to do to get good grades was go to all of the classes,
take notes, do all of the homework and assignments and then study for the
tests. I had it mastered.
Soon after that I put my college career on hold and moved to Hawai`i
and became a professional photographer and committed beach bum. My
love for reading was still strong and it wasn’t long before I was back in
college and studying for a new career in television production. I kept the
good study habits I had picked up in Illinois and proceeded to do quite well
as an undergraduate at the University of Hawai`i at Manoa. I had learned to
read and comprehend advanced texts and became semi-proficient as a
writer. Upon graduation in 1986 I began working full time for the local cable
company. A year later I was promoted to “Creative Director” in the cable
company’s Promotions and Advertising department.
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5. George Wurtz ITE 404_D Fall 2011
- Writing for Television & Corporate -
While at my position with the cable company my reading and writing
habits changed. I began reading technical manuals and books on television
production. My writing changed from writing essays to writing both short
and long TV scripts. The writing style required for these was quite different
than what I had done in school. In essence writing for TV was easier.
Everything had to be short, descriptive, and to the point. While some
creativity was required, promotion and advertising scripts are pretty much;
who, what, where, why, and when. Sometimes the scripts were 30 seconds,
and sometimes they were 30 minutes. The main thing is that they were
always assigned and many times the content was beyond my control.
I also became proficient at memo and report writing. Word processing
had begun to take off and writing memos and reports soon became routine.
About 12 years in to my 17 year career with the cable company I became
both restless and disenchanted with the monotony of the work. It had
ceased to become challenging and thus became boring. I’ve often said that
my 17 years with the cable company were 12 of the best years of my life. I
knew it was time for a change so when I left the cable company I took up
teaching and computers. It wasn’t long before I became excited about
teaching, teaching methods, and writing curricula. I read about teaching
and did the best I could but I knew I needed professional help.
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6. George Wurtz ITE 404_D Fall 2011
- Back to School -
For a while I was working as a substitute teacher for the D.O.E. and as
a full-time computer instructor. My students were between the ages of 8
and 88 and after some years of both success and frustration, I decided to go
back to school to earn my teaching credentials. I had become increasingly
interested in finding out why some of my teaching was successful and some
of my efforts just fell flat. I knew someone had the answer so with a bit of
trepidation I enrolled again at U.H. Manoa. I had been away from school for
almost 25 years and I knew it wasn’t going to be easy but I felt I could do it.
Since returning to school I’ve developed some anxiety and doubt in my
writing abilities. I knew that in grad school things would be kicked up a
notch but I wasn’t quite ready for what I encountered. As an undergrad I
was about 5 to 6 years older than my peers. My reading, writing, and study
habits were head and shoulders above my peers. As a post-grad student
however, I am about 30 years older than my colleagues. The good news is
that I am meeting and studying with some incredibly talented and
committed professionals. The bad news is that I’m more than a little
concerned that my school papers and reports are less than comparable to
those of my peers. This results in some extreme anxiety which causes me
to procrastinate and put off my large writing assignments.
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7. George Wurtz ITE 404_D Fall 2011
- Hope For the Future -
I’m a firm believer in that I can and will accomplish anything that I set
my mind to doing. I am also starting to (finally), feel as if my writing skills
are improving. I know it’s true that writing skills improve the more a person
writes. Now that I am heading down the final stretch toward earning my
Post Baccalaureate Certificate, I feel that it’s time for me to hone my skills.
I am working on tackling my assignments sooner instead of waiting until the
last minute. I am also going over my previous work and correcting it where
I can so that it’s ready for inclusion in my portfolio. Currently writing for me
is angst filled, hard, frustrating and rewarding. I like to think that I’m
improving with each paper I write.
I know that working on my writing skills will be a life-long learning
experience. I’m weak in grammar and in punctuation. I know the process is
never ending and one that can never be perfected. I’m sure however that
the challenge it provides me will make my new choice of profession both
fulfilling and exciting. Become a proficient and effective writer is something
I’m both dedicated and committedto accomplishing.
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