As with all new adventures, there will be apprehension for each of us as we take our first step into our own classroom. Kyleen Beers shares some of her first teaching experiences and how they have shaped where she is today. Her decision to write this book was based in part on three beliefs:
- Teachers want to help the struggling readers who sit in their classrooms
- These struggling students want to be helped
- The right instruction can make a difference
Beers tells us that students who struggle with reading are fully aware of their problem. Many students who reach middle or high school may have even given up on the possibility of being able to read, they are discouraged and disheartened. These students often get lost in the shuffle or become disenchanted with school altogether. Beers celebrates the fact that these kids even show up, “I believe we must celebrate the courage required to walk through the doors day after day of a place that is designed to reward those who can read when you know you are on of the ones who can’t” (6-7).
As a person who loves to read, I am committed to finding strategies that I can share with my students in order for them to become successful readers, both in and out of the classroom. I know that there is not just one answer for one or all students and I am empathetic to students who feel “deficient” because they have difficulties reading.
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