When I think back on my own personal language and literary
journey. There are many connections I can make towards my development growing
up. For the purpose of this blog entry. I am looking back on my second grade
year. I remember second grade being difficult for me because I wasn’t a good
reader, speller, or writer. This time in my life seems so vague that I barely
remember any of it but what I do remember impacted the way I teach today.
I remember
being pulled out of class to work with other teachers one-on-one and a few
times with a small group of children. I remember the insecurity I felt every
time I had to read aloud which meant that I had to be place in the red robin
group for reading time. I remember hating to practicing my spelling words for
homework and the frustration of my father’s face because I just couldn’t spell
the words right or the concerned look on my mother’s face because I still wrote
letter backwards. I felt dumb not only did I feel that way I believed it. There
was something majorly wrong with me but no one ever talked about it. It was if
everyone around me was in on this big secret that I knew nothing about. Second
grade for me was one of the worst years of my little life so I thought. After,
second grade not much really changed for me beside my parent’s divorce, moving
to another state, and attending six different school between second grade and
second attempted at the ninth grade. If things, couldn’t get any worse I
sustain a head injury that led to a lost of memory. I was immediately placed in
a restrictive special education classroom with nonverbal students but it was
there that I finally had a shimmer of hope. The special education teacher
worked with me every single day he started from the beginning. He reviewed
things such as the alphabet, the letter sounds, blends, how to sound out words,
how to build fluency in reading. He discovered that I suffered from dyslexia
and needed to learn a set of skills to overcome the complex complications it can
cause. He told me what was wrong, how I could, fix it and made goals for me to
improve. For the first time I had someone whom I felt invested the time and
discovering what so many had simply neglected.
Long story
short, after spending just one school with him he helped me caught up to my
peers. I moved back with my dad a the start of my junior year of high school
and because I had never passed the ninth grade they were unsure where to place
me. So they decided to test me and surprisingly to everyone I score college
level in every subject but English and I was allowed to enter 11th
grade and I graduated on time.
This story
taught me a few valuable lessons that I incorporate in my teaching. First, I
ensure that all children who are struggling receive early intervention. I work
as an advocate for these children helping to bridge the gap between them, their
families, the school, and services they need. Second, there is power in
knowing. It wasn’t until I knew what was wrong I could begin to make a change.
I feel that we want to protect of children and so we do not fully communicate
with them what they might be struggling with and provide a name to their
exceptionality. So I conference with all my students, reviewing their most
recent work and assessment and with them we develop plans and goals on how to
improve. This has helped to close achievement gaps in my room between my high
performing students and my lower preforming students. It also empowers them and
builds their self-confidence. Finally, build relationship with all my students
and their families. Building attachments are critical in help children grow and
learn. I want them to know that I am a trusting adult who they can depend on to
meet their needs both academically and socially and emotionally as well.
This course
has helped me to understand how pivotal this moment was in my language and
literary development. I have more understanding as to what factors might hinder
or support language and literary in young children. Creating a language and
literary story was a very beneficial activity that helps deepen my awareness of
toxic stress and it’s effects on the brain. This became one of my favorite
things to research and I can see me continuing this fascination that I have
developed with this topic through this course.
