Reflecting on Myself as a Reader

I've always loved to read, ever since at a young age. I remember in kindergarten, one of the first books I ever read was Go, Dog, Go by Dr. Seuss. My kindergarten teacher had always said that I was a natural reader and I was one of the few who were able to read at the time.

While I was in elementary school, I always used to love getting the book order pamphlets (I forgot what they were called! Scholastic Reading or something?) and I would always order a ton of books from there. I was also a part of the Babysitter's Club Little Sister's Book Club, and they would send me books through the mail. Many of my reading experiences when I was younger were always positive. I can't even recall a negative experience with reading.

Even now, I find that I am always reading. Since school started, I haven't really gotten a chance to read as much as I wanted to, but I love reading books when I have the time. I also read a lot of magazines and have websites that I read daily whenevever I first sign online. Barnes and Noble is my second home. :)

How can we create a community in our classrooms?

I think in order to create a community, it is so important for each student to know each student's background and where they came from. In Walking Trees, Ralph Fletcher writes about how each student will write something and have him/her read it aloud to the other students. Many of the things the students write are personal and going on in their lives currently. Being able to share something to the class helps the other students to get to know one another. Not only does the student read the writing aloud, but the other students can give the student their ideas and opinions about the writing. One example comes to mind, where a student writes about how as the oldest, she has taken on many responsibilities while her father is working three jobs and her mother is busy with house related problems. She had to take care of her three brothers every day after school. After she was done reading her writing, her students volunteered to help her with her responsibilities. By having the students share with one another their lives, this helps in creating a community not only in the classroom, but also outside the classroom as well.

Lessons from Children

There are many lessons that I can learn from children. I've been teaching Sunday School for 4th grade for the past 5 years and every Sunday, I feel as though I learn something new. Even though they know much more than I did when I was their age, they still have that innocence children have. One thing that I have learned is not to be afraid to ask questions. The students in my Sunday School class are always asking questions, even though some may not be completely relevant or may be a little ridiculous. They are never afraid of feeling intimidated when asking questions. This is something that I admire so much, especially because I have a hard time asking questions in class. I've also learned that it is important to have fun. There are many times while I am teaching the students and I forget that I am teaching children, not adults. I am reminded many times that having fun is not a bad thing, no matter what you do.

racial/ethnic groups and biases

One way to expand my knowledge base about other racial/ethnic groups would be to consistently watch the news and pay attention to what is going on in the world. As I learn what is going on in other countries, I definitely feel that this is one way where I can be exposed to other racial/ethnic groups. It would teach me to be more aware of other different ethnic groups and not be so narrow-minded.

Another way would be surrounding myself with friends from different cultural backgrounds. The best way I can learn more about other groups would be to ask those who are closest to me. As of now, I do not have too many friends who are not of the same ethnic background as me. I know that I also need to be more open in creating friendships with those who are outside my ethnicity.

One experience I can remember is when I was in high school. I went to a high school with students of many different ethnic groups. There were a lot of African-American students that had attended the school and I had always thought that many of them had come from Africa. As I type this out, I know that I was very ignorant, or it could be that I just didn't know. I was surprised to find out, though, that one friend of mine actually was Jamaican. This experience has definitely taught me to be more open-minded and not to always assume that just because someone is black that person is only from one country.