From the Beginning

As a reading teacher and now seeking my MEd Reading Specialist, you would think that I have loved reading since childhood. Truth be told, I would like nothing more than to have some inspiring, funny story to share about the books I read when I was a child; or to tell you about the times I would sneak off in my tree house and just read; or even tell you that I was known as the child with a book in hand. Sorry to disappoint.
Truth be told, I hated reading when I was younger. I was not the child that eagerly awaited the class discussions, the book clubs, library days, etc. My least favorite time of the school day was my Language Arts (LA) class. Oh, and when my teacher would announce "popcorn" reading (no, not when we seat eating popcorn as the teacher reads to us, I know I was dispirited too).
You may be wondering how someone who dislikes reading became a reading teacher...
Well, a flame was lighted when my mom would read stories to us as kids. My mom didn't know much English so, her pronunciation made for some very interesting interpretations of the stories, for example our (my siblings and I) favorite story was Buzz and Booty (reality: Buzz and Woody from Toy Story). Reading nights with my mom were my favorite and for a while I enjoyed and loved reading. It was all fin and games until I became my mom.
First grade. Terrifying already and add first year in the country learning the language, traumatizing. I became my mom, messing up the words, reading really slow, and not fully understanding. My teacher Mrs.Riesgo did her best to teach me the language but she couldn't stop the other students making fun. My fire began to diminish.
That went on through my childhood, and just when I thought my fire would finally die out, Mrs. Beuford, my 6th grade reading teacher fired me up. My loved for reading has only grown since then, I think my career choice is a living proof of that. Your next question might be, why are you an elementary teacher? It seems that most teachers go back to teach in the time period that they themselves were inspired. In a way, I did just that. I went back to the time I was negatively affected, so that I can inspire students at an earlier age and, hopefully, create readers at younger ages.