My name is Renee Pagoota. I am completing my twelfth year of teaching. My school is located in a small community called Sherrills Ford in Catawba County. I have taught in diverse settings including a rural school in Statesville, a lakeside school in Mooresville, and a Title One school in Hickory. I have experience teaching fourth, fifth, first and Kindergarten which is my current grade level. I have found Kindergarten to be the most exciting grade level that I have taught. I am certainly content and hope to remain in this grade level teaching emergent readers.
I am seven weeks away from completing my Master’s degree in Reading. It has been a positive learning experience in my career and I am certain that is has provided me with the means to improve my effectiveness and confidence in teaching reading.
As a child I remember that reading and writing were my favorite subjects. I was a natural reader. In Kindergarten I recall learning letter sounds through songs and videos. It seems like very shortly after that I was discovering chapter books. I liked the classic authors like Blume and Cleary. Creative writing was enjoyable and I feel that I had a great imagination. Later I became the editor on my high school newspaper. My original goal was to become a journalist. Life changes, and now I proudly teach.
I would not say that reading is my favorite hobby, however I always take books on vacation or to the pool. I also enjoy reading in peace and quiet before bed. So for me reading is most enjoyed in solitude. I feel very differently when I am in teacher mode. Children’s books are meant to be read aloud, shared, and enjoyed with the class. I am always ready to share stories and new books with my students. When I am reading aloud to my class I feel certain that I was destined to be a reading teacher.