Myself as a Reader

I have always loved to read. I attribute my love of reading to my ease with learning to read as a young child and the constant presence of both my mother and grandmother reading throughout my life. As a child, I was often read to by my parents and grandmother. My grandmother and I particularly enjoyed reading Anne of Green Gables together. She also sent me many newspaper articles about subjects she believed would interest me - music, theater, history.

I also frequently read on my own, and especially enjoyed both the Nancy Drew and Babysitter's Club series in my later elementary years. As I entered high school, I expanded my reading repertoire to include biographies, Jewish scholarly texts on Torah analysis and traditional rituals, practices, and customs, and poetry, along with continuing to read fiction in both dramatic and humorous contexts. The Broke Diaries by Angela Nissel was introduced to me well into my high school years, and remains my favorite book read (and re-read, countless times) to date.

Creating a Classroom Community

From the moment children step foot into a classroom at the start of the school year, they have to be presented with an environment that is safe, friendly, and trusting. Students must know that their classroom environment is one in which they can feel comfortable expressing their individual voices, and they must do so - often. These individual voices must always be valued by peers and teachers alike. The notion of taking a risk to express yourself and your ideas, even if the risk does not result in reward, is a critical foundation for any classroom community. This principle is best exemplified in Steve Meyers's classroom ("Walking Trees", p. 88-9). Ralph enters Steve's classroom one day to find him jumping rope (miserably, and much to the amusement of his students). Steve explains to Ralph that with this demonstration he is showing the children that it is encouraged to take a risk and try something you may not be good at, or express something you may be hesitant to share, in his classroom. To try and fail is far better than to not try at all.

Additionally, it is imperative to let students take an active role in classroom decision-making. Whether it be voting for student council representatives or picking groups for an assigned project, a classroom community hinges on the uninhibited participation of its students. If students do not feel comfortable expressing their voices and making decisions in the classroom, a classroom as a community can never be adequately established.