Gratitude

No one goes into education for the money. Sometimes, they do go into it because they love history or they love English or they love chemistry. Most of the time, though, they love kids. They love learning. And they love to see kids learning. And the bonus at the end of the day is a student's gratitude.

I taught Terrance many, many moons ago. I'm pretty sure I had him in English I my first year at Newberry. Oh good heavens, I had no idea what I was doing. I keep thinking of those poor kids and thinking, if I only knew then what I knew now. If only.

But I did the best I could. And that was more than enough for Terrance. When he was a senior, in the spring semester, he came to visit me. We both had long moved on--he to other teachers and I to other students. But Newberry is a small school. You always see each other. You always speak. So when Terrance got to the spring semester of his senior year without passing the exit exam, he came knocking.

I didn't know a whole lot about the test back then. I didn't know how important authentic reading activities were. But Terrance had a weight-lifting class and I had planning and some workbooks. So we sat down together and practiced. We worked on very basic paragraph structures and multiple choice questions.

Our hard work paid off. On the last day of school for seniors that year, Terrance came to me, with tears in his eyes, to thank me for all my help. He was going to be able to graduate.

I ran into to Terrance at the gas station this weekend. Once again, it's Newberry. These things happen. I look back at our time together and think that I could have done so much more. Terrance was the one who did all the hard work. But when I see him, it's the same refrain. Thank you. Thank you for everything that you did for me. Thank you for being there. Thank you for your help.

It's gratitude. That's what makes us come back every day. That's what makes all the headaches worth while--a lifetime of Terrances.

Tips for a Successful Read Aloud

You’ll need to start by selecting the right text for your class. Always, ALWAYS, read your selection in advance. You need to ensure that what you are reading is appropriate for your students and your lesson. You also need to decide whether or not you are enjoying the text yourself. You can’t fake enthusiasm with a bunch of teenagers. They won’t buy it.

When choosing a text, think carefully about what purpose you want the read-aloud to serve. Is this to introduce a new chapter? Do you want to make sure that they know the current events in your content area? Do you want to provide them with an example of your content area in the real world? Choose your text wisely for the most success.

The best time to read to kids is at the beginning or end of class. Read alouds are perfect transition activities. They don’t need to be longer than about 15 minutes—students get antsy if you go longer than that. If you’re reading a novel or other lengthy piece, you may want to plan to end your session at an intriguing point—leave your audience begging for more! You can follow your read aloud up with discussion, journals, write-arounds, written conversations, etc., but don’t feel that you need to grade them.

Reading aloud to teens can make a profound difference in their lives as learners and as readers.