RE 5040 Teacher as Researcher

Dr. Gary Moorman

September 10, 2004

Jana Camp

Reading and Teaching… A World of Adventure

            Reading is a word that conjures up many mixed emotions for people of all ages. When I think about reading and how this process unfolded for me, I have great confidence in my ability. From a young age, I have loved the written and spoken word. At the age of four, my mother taught me to recognize the alphabet and to phonetically pronounce the letters. She helped me learn these skills through singing the ABC song, puzzles, and guessing games. My mother and I love music, so anytime I wanted to learn something, we made up jingles to sing. Using this musical format was never boring or tiresome for me.

            I grew up with a principal as my father. Therefore, education was highly esteemed in my home. I did not attend Kindergarten, but my mother and father made sure I used my time wisely. And, with a mother that was committed to making the learning process a FUN adventure; I had an incredible beginning in the world of education. Both my parents read to me on a daily basis. I quickly learned to adore the characters in the books they read. The illustrations intrigued me and I always thought I would like to be an illustrator for children’s books. I often made up tall tales as I “read” books using the illustrations. Although, the desire to draw and paint was tremendous, time would kindly reveal that my talent was not in visual arts.

            When I went to first grade, I learned quickly that I had a knack for helping other children who found the world of words a frightening place to go. Often, Miss Moore would ask me to help struggling readers. Thanks to my mother, I knew how to make recognition of letters and small words a fun game for my friends. I taught others the jingles my Mom and I had created. This helped my classmates feel more comfortable with reading. From this point on, I told everyone I wanted to be a teacher.  

            However, I feel the real key to my success as an avid reader came when I began taking voice lessons at the age of five. The music teacher at our school asked me to stay one day after class. She asked me to join her in singing “This Is My Father’s World”. As we sang about the beauty of God’s creation, I loved the sounds of the piano and our voices blending together. My father was the principal at my school and he heard singing in his office two doors down from where we were. He thought the voice was familiar, so he came to investigate. I remember the proud and admiring look on his face as he discovered it was me. From that moment on, Martha Fortenberry became my voice teacher and my mentor. I found some song lyrics to be challenging reading and often memorized them. However, difficult song lyrics motivated me to dig in the dictionary and learn pronunciations and definitions. Again, this was more like a game to me than work.

            I feel extremely blessed to have had such a supportive educational environment. I realized as a young child that I had an advantage over children whose home was not filled with books and parents who loved to read to them. . As I continued through elementary, middle and high school, I was reassured time again that I wanted to make a difference in the lives of children. As I entered ASU, I was committed to the calling of becoming a caring and loving teacher who would make a positive impact on students. My goal was to make the reading process as much fun as my mother and my second and third grade teacher, Mrs. Beam, had done for me.

            After finishing college and teaching third grade, I realized that reading would not be fun for some children. I began to understand the sick feeling a struggling reader might have when called on to read orally. I also saw that what had been a natural part of my life was remarkably foreign to many children and that I lacked the skills I needed to help those with pronounced reading problems. Although I continued to use music as a medium for making reading more interesting, I found that some children did not respond to this method. I gave my students a heavy dose of phonics instruction and used flash cards to drill word recognition. However, it always seemed that there were one or two children each year that did not catch on. I remember feeling that I had failed these children and wondering how they would be successful in life.

            After teaching K-4 for several years, I had the opportunity to teach high school students at an alternative school. I found my niche! From there I moved on to Cleveland Community College where I taught developmental reading and math to students who had rarely had any positive educational experiences. While teaching there, I returned to ASU to study reading in depth. As I am progressing towards earning a master in Reading Education, I am learning strategies that have proven to help the most challenged reader. Being a student while teaching my students has kept me in a constant learning mode. It has also encouraged some of my students to further their education after finishing at the community college level.

            Today, I am the Learning Lab Coordinator at Western Piedmont Community College. This is a challenging job for me. .I realize that this new job is beneficial to the GED lab running smoothly. However, I long for the classroom and the thrill of seeing the “light come on” as students realize they can be successful, confident readers. I yearn for the day when I will return to the classroom. Teaching people is a gift and calling that I love and have found to be the most rewarding work I have ever done.