Dear Readers,
I am Amanda Ericson, I graduated Eastern Connecticut State University with a Bachelors in Mathematics and Elementary Education in December 2011. I received my Initial Educators Certification in Elementary Education in January 2012. I look forward to working in my first classroom and being a teacher who encourages students to read and helps them to find the right books for them.
Since the beginning of my freshman year of high school I knew I wanted to become a teacher one day. I had a really great teacher in second grade who helped me immensely. I would estimate that I was reading at a first grade entry level in the middle of second grade. Everyday was a struggle when it came to reading. Second grade would have been a lot worse had my teacher just ignored me or decided I wasn’t smart, but instead she began to work with me. She made it so when I stayed back I would have her as a teacher for a second year, when usually if a student stayed back they were not allowed to have the same teacher.
Since the beginning of my freshman year of high school I knew I wanted to become a teacher one day. I had a really great teacher in second grade who helped me immensely. I would estimate that I was reading at a first grade entry level in the middle of second grade. Everyday was a struggle when it came to reading. Second grade would have been a lot worse had my teacher just ignored me or decided I wasn’t smart, but instead she began to work with me. She made it so when I stayed back I would have her as a teacher for a second year, when usually if a student stayed back they were not allowed to have the same teacher.
She also talked with my parents often and let them know what was going to happen with me and that staying back would be the best option. Not only did she work closely with my parents she also stayed after with me every other Thursday, which I will never forget! I never expected a second grade teacher to stay after with her students but she did. She taught me how to read by encouraging me to write my own stories. When I didn’t know how to spell a word she told me I could do it, she instilled the confidence in me. Her work with me didn’t just last while I had her, she was the one who made sure I was in special education and had an IEP and by the time I was in 6th grade I was reading on grade level, I caught up in a few short years. Had my 2nd grade teacher not caught my reading difficulty I cannot even imagine how long it would have taken before another teacher noticed.
Not only did she catch my reading problems but she also recognized that I excelled in math. She began having me do harder work than the other kids and moving at my own pace in our math books since I was able to teach myself math.
This teacher really fought hard for me and all of her students and it was her dedication and my struggle that has made me want to become a teacher. One day I would love to be as dedicated to my students as this teacher was for me. My number one goal in teaching is to take all my students from where they are at the beginning of the year and move them forward. I want them to one day feel as though they conquered reading or a skill that they never felt like they would be able to grasp!
Sincerely,
The Reading Conqueror
Sincerely,
The Reading Conqueror
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