Celebrate Literacy Week - Love of Reading
Published on: Mar 01, 2020
It’s Celebrate Literacy Week and we’re asking senior leadership at the Department of Education and others – when did you first begin to love reading? For some of us, it started with a beloved character or author, some it was the time spent with parents “doing all the voices” during bedtime stories and for others it was a favorite teacher or other role model who ignited their love of learning. In any case, the joy of reading is invaluable – it sparks our curiosity as a child, molds our opinions as adolescents and with each book, becomes part of our identity as adults. It gives us a freedom, an escape and maybe even some adventure.
Here’s what they said:
“When I think about my early memories around reading, I can’t help but think about my Kindergarten teacher, Miss Hammond, who would start every class by reading a story to us. And I always just thought it was so neat how she could hold the book upside down and read the words while showing pictures. I wanted to be able to do that so much. I’ll never forget being able to do that in front of my mom, my dad, and my two brothers and I read Cinderella upside down. And I still remember that today as one of my proudest reading moments.”
Chancellor Jacob Oliva, Division of Public Schools, Florida Department of Education
“My mom is who instilled a love of reading in me. She always had a book in her hand and I can remember at an early age, she always gave me books or would read to me. One of our favorite activities was going to the local library together and checking out books for the week. Those are very sweet memories and I’m so glad she instilled the love of learning in me. She only had a high school diploma and she always wanted me to have more.”
Melissa Ramsey, Vice Chancellor, Strategic Improvement, Florida Department of Education
“So when I think about what got me excited about reading, I often think about when I was in elementary school and I absolutely hated reading. It was just not something I wanted to do academically. My dad got me into comic books and that was something I enjoyed doing but more so with the pictures and things. And then I’ll never forget my fifth grade teacher, Mr. Menendez, who got us involved with Edgar Allan Poe. That was my first introduction to something that I really loved – the detective novels where you’re figuring out things and it just grabbed me in. Then fast forward to ninth grade, with my English teacher Ms. Christine White. I look back to one of my favorite pieces of literature now, A Tale of Two Cities. It’s so easy for me to pick up a book now by having those influences that really encouraged a love for literacy and a love for reading when I was in school.”
Dr. Dakeyan Cha Dre Graham, 2020 Florida Teacher of the Year, King High School
“My first memory of reading is my mother reading to me A.A. Milne, Christopher Robin and Winnie the Pooh, and falling in love with the sound of words. But I would say my first real “book falling,” where I fell in love with a book, was Where the Red Fern Grows. And I remember sneaking out of my bed and going to the living room to finish it because I couldn’t not finish it… then crying hysterically when I got to the end and not being able to wake up my Mom because I was sneaking out. But it was the first time a book ever just enveloped me and I can remember lying on the couch finishing that book and the way that book felt. Books have been some of my greatest teachers and my greatest friends and I love teaching them and sharing them with students every day.”
Es Swihart, 2019 Sarasota County Teacher of the Year, Riverview High School, IB Higher Level Literature 3 and 4 (11th &12th grade), Pre-IB English 1 (9th grade)
“Reading has always been a big part of my life. My mom always took me to the library as a young child to get books but it wasn’t until she read me Miss Nelson is Missing about a teacher who was having trouble with unruly kids. She had a “sub” come in and she dressed in a costume and it was really her who was subbing – she was a disciplinarian. At the end of the book, the kids figure out it was her and so that book lead me to read a lot of other books. By the time I was in middle school, I was always that kid who was reading under their desk and getting in trouble. And so, reading to me has always been important and it’s something that I think everyone enjoys once they find the right book.”
Elisa Hall, 2020 Suwannee County Teacher of the Year, Suwannee High School, 9th Grade English, Intensive Reading
“My earliest memory of when I fell in love with reading was when I was about 3 or 4 years old and I remember sitting with my dad and he would start to read me all these stories. Every day we read together. And eventually I started to pick up on the words and I remember his excitement when we actually started to read together. So translate to now, reading is such an escape. It’s a way to immerse yourself in another world or in a story or to learn information. It’s such a wonderful way to enrich your mind and really just dive in and enjoy a story.”
Melissa Pappas, 2020 Orange County Teacher of the Year, 2019 Mary J. Brogan Award Recipient, Brookshire Elementary School, K-5, Intensive Autism Spectrum Disorder
“Happy Celebrate Literacy Week! When I think about my love of reading, it really started at a young age with my parents reading to me each and every night before bed. So during this great week of celebrating literacy and all our love of reading, I challenge each and every one of you to find your favorite book, continue to read to our students and families and those that you love, and really celebrate literacy during this important week.”
Dr. Paul Burns, Deputy Chancellor for Educator Quality, Florida Department of Education