I became an avid reader in fourth grade as a participant of the Book It program, through which I would earn a Pizza Hut personal pan pizza for every so many books read. That year, I also won a bag stuffed with books for being the student who read the most. In the midst of the profusion of extrinsic rewards, I developed a sincere love for reading.
I recall reading The Babysitters Club series, the Dear America series, and the Thoroughbred series during middle school. I also really enjoyed historical fiction. In high school I preferred the classics that we read in class. We primarily studied British and American authors, including William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Arthur Miller, Harper Lee, Herman Melville, John Steinbeck and Toni Morrison. I had the opportunity to take AP English courses and a plethora of English electives that exposed me to new authors and genres.
Outside of the classroom, I was willing to read anything. I fell in love with Agatha Christie's mysteries. I could not put down Stephenie Meyer's mythical saga. I lost myself in Robert Louis Stevenson's adventures. I laughed through Nancy Farmer's enchanting stories. My current favorite genre is late 19th century/early 20th century American literature.
The characters are the most engaging element of a work of literature; the depth of a work increases concurrently with the strength of the characters. If an author can create believable and interesting characters, then the plot line or genre does not matter. It is the journey of a realistic character and the extent to which I can empathize with the character's experiences and struggles that engages me in a work of literature.
I hope that the experiences that I provide for my students are as positive as my own experiences. My primary objective as an English teacher is to open my students' minds to the immense world that exists around and within us. I want my students to think and question and grow. I want them to appreciate reading because literature, whether it is a novel or comic or essay or poem, is a valuable expression and reflection of our understandings of life. When students are engaged in reading, then they can be further engaged in their own independent reflections and understandings about both themselves and the rest of the world.
