Maria Ricchio

This week in our professional development we talked about how we structure independent reading in our classrooms (i.e. how much time per week, how do we group our students, how do students choose books, where do they sit etc) As a warm up we also came up with a list of reasons why we read as teachers and reasons why our students read. This was a valuable activity because it showcased the importance of wanting to make students life long readers.  We want students to read for pleasure, inspiration, relaxation,  knowledge etc. and not just think it is as something you do for school.  To conclude our session, the principal read a chapter from the book called 26 Fairmount Avenue by Tomie dePaola which centers on the author's memory of his childhood in Connecticut during the late 1930s. The part that really left an impression on me was how much he still remembers about being in kindergarden.The author recounts his first day of school when he couldn't wait to learn to read, but the teacher discouraged him by saying he would have to wait until 1st grade. This was obviously a terrible response to a student who was excited and willing to learn. This part left an impression because it made me think how much I can influence my students. This teacher obviously left a strong impression on the author if he wrote about it his memoir. It reminds me of the quote "With great power, comes great responsibility" Teachers can make huge impacts on their students and even a short conversation could be something they remember for years to come. Because it is the end of the semester, I've noticed that my patience has been wearing thin and my students are ready for a break. Even though it's that time of year when teachers are stressed and the workload is piling on, I need to make sure not to show my frustration to students. I want them to leave 2nd grade with positive feelings toward learning, school, and their experiences in the classroom :)