Reading Reflection

I would not call myself an avid reader.  When I was younger I enjoyed reading and my parents would definitely encourage me to read outside of things I had to read for school.  As I got older and went through high school, there were definitely books that I enjoyed reading, but did not read on a regular basis unless it was for my classes.  I think I was discouraged by the notion that I was forced to read things picked by my teachers and that I had no say in this decision (even though they are now some of my favorite classic books).  I then went on to college and graduated with my B.A. in English Literature.  I definitely surprised myself with how interested I became in my classes and how well I did with the heavy load of reading especially in my last few semesters of college.  I have been reading now more than ever before and have recently been reading some classics that I either don't remember well or haven't actually gotten the chance to read.  There are definitely many different categories of text that interest me.  I enjoy mystery and suspense novels and thinking back on college, my favorite classes were British Women's Literature and I also enjoyed Latin/Latino Literature.  I also enjoy the guilty pleasure of reading pointless fiction for example, The Devil Wears Prada, etc.  

I definitely remember my mother and father reading to me a lot as a child.  They are both big readers.  I have a large collection of books that are probably from early childhood ranging to about young adult categories.  As for school, I don't have any vivid memories about working with certain books but I am sure we did.  Apparently nothing was significant enough for me to remember... I do enjoy and appreciate reading now more than when I was younger and in school.

Question for Nov. 2

We can create a community in out classrooms by allowing students to feel comfortable with each other and their teachers.  This starts from day one each year and the feelings that the students get from walking into their new room with new faces and especially a new teacher.  Good impressions and rules need to be in place from day one so that the students know where they stand and what their responsibilities are.  As teachers, we need to be consistent and organized so that our students are consistent and organized.  The sense of responsibility and independence they get will allow them to grow in and out of the classroom.  A sense of community will come from them feeling comfortable ad being able to express themselves without feeling criticized or silenced.  Open communication within the classroom will lend to the classroom becoming a community.  From Walking Trees, i have learned that if children feel that they cannot freely express themselves (appropriately), in the classroom, it will turn into a hostile and unfriendly environment.  Fletcher encourages the children in these types of environments to share their ideas with him on paper and they look forward to writing because of him.  This creates in some of the rooms a classroom that feels like a community.