My name is Heather Houston. I am a 4th grade teacher at Taylorsville Elementary in Alexander County. I am about to finish my 8th year of teaching, and have been teaching 4th grade for the 8 years I have taught. When I decided to pursue my master’s degree, I pondered what area I would do it in. I chose reading because I feel that is an area I need to improve and grow in. Thinking about teaching a lower grade level, especially kindergarten made me nervous, not only because of the age group, but because I didn’t know where I would begin with teaching children how to read from scratch. So…that solved the problem with which area I needed to go back to school for. Through the courses I have already taken in the program, I have learned so much invaluable information.
Now what to do next??? We just finished End of Grade testing at our school, and our first reading results were terrible. Only fifty percent of my students passed. The re-tests turned out better, but I have got to find a way to improve my students reading skills. I teach at a school where the majority of students are either African American or Hispanic. Many of our parents are uneducated, disinterested in education, or have a language barrier. That makes my job even more difficult. I have got to find a way to provide my students with the skills they need, despite the lack of parental/home support. So….if anyone already has ideas or solutions…what more can I do?
Posted by Heather Houston