Reflecting on myself as a reader

I really enjoy reading. I find it very relaxing and feel it is an escape from the everyday stresses of life. When I am in school, I feel like I can not find the time to read. I am too busy reading required texts to try to fit any reading in for pleasure. After I graduated college, I had two years off before I went back to pursue my master's degree. During that time, I was able to do alot of reading. I like to read romance novels that just take you into another world. They are a great escape for me. I also like to read Nicholas Sparks novels.

When I was younger, I had many positive experiences with reading. I loved reading as a child. My mother always read to me. I do not actually remember how I learned to read. It's funny because I just always remember myself reading but not the actual learning process. My mother immersed me in all types of books. When I was in 2nd grade, she enrolled me in a Minnie Mouse book club. I would recieve a few different books at a time along with a letter from Minnie. She was clearly my favorite. Then, my mother would help me write back to her. It was kind of like a pen pal and book club combined. I really enjoyed it. A negative experience I had with reading is that I really disliked the round robin activity in school. I was always a fast reader so I did not like to listen to kids in my class that read slow. I do not think it was a positive experience for them as well because they were aware of the fact that they were slow readers. I think in the end, this probably discouraged them.

When I was younger, I had trouble with reading comprehension. On state tests, my lowest scores were always in comprehension. Even when I really took my time to read the passages, I felt like I was unable to answer the questions correctly. Reading comprehension just always gave me anxiety. Sometimes I think I tried too hard to understand the passages and would really not get anything out of it. To this day, I feel like reading comprehension troubles me.

Overall, I have always enjoyed reading. I definitely feel that my mother was my motivator as a child. She always encouraged me to read and always read along with me. I believe it is so important to instill a passion for reading in kids at a young age. I think it helps the overall development of a child.

Creating a Community in Our Classrooms

I believe it is very important to try to create a community within the classroom. I believe that teachers need to work to try to bring their students together as a class. Every child is different and will have something different to bring into a classroom. Students should be motivated to open up to each other and be open minded. I believe if students open up to one another it will bring them closer as a class. Students can be united as a community through their writing. If students write about their personal experiences and share it with one another, it will give other students a glimpse into their lives. Perhaps one child's story will help another along the way. Writing is a very vital aspect in a classroom so I think writing is a great way to try to unite students.
The stories in Walking Trees has definitely affected my ideas. One story that really stands out in my mind is Tanya's Half-Autobiography. In her story, she reveals that her father sexually abused her. I think this story is proof that children can have hard lives. They do not necessarily have perfect lives because they are innocent children. I think this story helped me realize that writing about a good experience or bad experience, can in the end help students. I know that many people may feel that students should not discuss their hardships to members of their class. I believe this sharing of writing can be beneficial for the individual and the other students in the classroom. In the end, sharing of experiences can help unite the classroom and bring them together.

Lessons We Learn from Children

I think children are the most interesting people. You can never be surprised by what can come out of a child's mouth. Children are honest and do not hold back. In "Walking Trees", Ralph Fletcher gets to know the students better through writing workshops. One student named Carlos wrote about his jealousy towards his mother's boyfriend. He was very open with his feelings. I think writing is a good way to try to get to know students a little better. Students may feel they can use writing as a way to express their feelings. Teachers should all take on the responsibility of trying to get to know students better in order to try to teach them better.

I think as teachers we should accept the fact that not all children have a perfect life. Every child is different. Every student has a different set of circumstances. My uncle works in a public school. He has shared many stories with me about his students. Many come from broken homes or have no contact with their parents at all. I think a lesson we can learn from children is that even the innocent may be affected by the cruelties in this world. Some children are forced to live with huge burdens on their shoulders. You never truly know what goes on behind closed doors. As teachers we must be open to the fact that our students come from varying backgrounds. We have to do our best to accomodate their needs and teach them effectively.

Expanding your Knowledge Base...

I believe it is very important for teachers to expand their knowledge base about different racial/ethnic groups. If I want to be a great teacher, I must be able to relate to all of my students. Every child in a classroom has a different culture, a different life. When I have my own classroom one day, I know that no two students will be alike. Every student has their own background and I must do my best to expose myself to the diverse backgrounds in order to teach my students properly. I think I can expand my knowledge on the students' backgrounds by having the students participate in projects about their culture. I can think of fun engaging activies that will be helpful and beneficial to both my students and myself. I also believe that I can learn more about the students through their families. If I understand a students' background better, communication with the parents will be easier.

An experience that I had which taught me about my own bias was when I visited an Abbott school. The Abbott school I visited was in Hoboken. I have lived in Hoboken my entire life and to be honest I did not think an Abbott school was right in my town. I knew that Abbott schools were located in low income neighborhoods and I never really looked at Hoboken in that way. It came as a big surprise to me. Out of the three schools I visited, the Abbott school turned out to be my favorite. The classroom I observed was very well organized. The teacher seemed very experienced and was very engaged with her students. The building itself seemed clean and very organized. Realizing that an Abbott school was located in my town was definitely a wake up call. You can never really judge a book by its cover. You really never know what you will find.