Hello! My name is Emily Williams and I teach seventh grade language arts and social studies in a rural school in Dallas, Georgia. I am originally from Grand Rapids, Michigan, but had to make the move to Georgia due to the economy eight years ago. Since the classes I teach are reading focused, I have had a passion to find out how many of my students come to the middle school, grade levels behind in reading. Obtaining my specialist degree will help me to learn the newest research and techniques used in early childhood, as well as, help promote social change in the middle school. I had a rewarding experience in early elementary school with literacy with my first grade teacher Mrs. Becky Brown. She used music and taught all subjects through the playing of her piano. I LOVED her and immediately formed a relationship with her, which allowed me to excel in reading and in school! I still have a great relationship with her today! What was your experience when first learning to read?
Since most of my photos are still housed at my parents in Michigan, this was the only one I could find of that first grade year! I look happy about learning, right?
Emily,
ReplyDeleteFirst, I'll like to comment on your beautiful first grade picture. I hope your daughter is as beautiful as you are. The picture is evident of the innocence of a child.
Learning to read as a child was really effortless because my Dad is an educator, so he surrounded me with books, I remember I had to read and if he's not around , I had to get together with his colleague's children for reading to be read to by his colleagues The British Catholic Elementary School I attended also did their part. They used different strategies. but I remember they were amazed how myself and other children from the college where my dad taught were able to read before first grade. What we had then was British nursery schools consisting of Nursery 1 and 2 but I remember I was promoted from nursery 1 to first grade because I can read well. Another contributory factor was that I was not allowed to speak my language at home, I must speak English
By the time I got to middle school I had developed a strong passion for reading. I was surrounded by friends who love reading and before I finished high school I had finished reading all the series of James Hadley Chase, Dennis Robbins, Barbara Cartland, Robert Ludlum, Jeffery Archer and other best sellers of those years. Reading was a competition among my friends and I and this has gone a long way in impacting my readings academically.