I can’t imagine how it will feel like to end my first year at an elementary school working as a specialist. Even though I’m hoping to go to graduate school for Speech Pathology I feel like I will share similar emotions as Kathy Collins, the author of this book. After spending a year with a group of students the emotional attachment will develop and you will see the impact you have made on your students as the years go by. I know I see fifth graders come back to my CT’s forth grade class just to stop by and say hi and give her a hug. I’ve also seen it in my mom’s class when her kids who used to be in her kindergarten class come back years later inviting her to their quinceanera (kind of like the American sweet 16 birthday, but in a lot of Spanish-speaking countries they have a huge celebration for the 15th birthday). The impact we have on our students can make a monumental difference in their future not only as a student, but as a human being.
A few things that stood out in this chapter is really ingraining the importance of reading. Once students develop good reading habits, they’ll maintain them throughout the entire year and not just during the school year. Providing them with the resources and helping them come up with ideas on when and where to read is extremely beneficial to their development as readers. Some kids do not have an unlimited supply of books at home, so taking a field trip to the public library so the kids can open their own library card is a great idea. Or as she mentioned, developing a school lending library where the students are allowed to take books home for the summer is a wonderful incentive. In our methods classes we have also seen the unlimited supplies of resources found on-line. Now we can access thousands of books in multiple languages by a click of a button.
The last idea I’ll mention that really stood out to me is showing the kids the progress they have made throughout the year and celebrating it. Sometimes, even now as a college student, we don’t realize how much we have grown and developed as a learner. By showing students mini-portfolios, with work samples you’ve collected throughout the year, they will be able to see and admire their progress. I believe this will not only give them a boost of confidence but it will also remind them of what they are capable of. Usually throughout the year we encounter bumps along the road and are faced with the decision do I give up? Or do I would harder to succeed? By looking and holding a piece of their own work they will see what they are capable of. I think this would reassure them that they’re ready to move on to the next grade. Celebrating that success with book mark parties or reading to kindergarten buddies would be the perfect ending to a successful school year!
