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Adrian Birds
Mrs. Thomas
UWRT 1103-036

Reading to Teach
Like every other teacher, I have my reasons for wanting to embark on the journey of
teaching. Amongst the top reasons for me wanting be a teacher are to be a positive role model for
students, the opportunity to change lives, working with young people, and having the summers
off arent bad either. All of those reasons are significant, but I believe that the texts that I have
been exposed to throughout my life are equally important in me making this lifelong
commitment of being an elementary school teacher.
As early as I can remember I have always known that I wanted to become a teacher, I am
not sure where the idea came from, I guess the thought of teaching has always intrigued me.
Some may argue that all great teachers are born. I say people are born teachers, but all great
teachers are made, made through our life experiences and the texts that have impacted us. I
began to realize how simple life could be if one had a regular routine to follow with fixed hours,
a fixed salary, and very little original thinking to do (Roald Dahl). That quote describes the way
I feel about teaching, which leads me to the many ways one of my favorite childhood authors,
Roald Dahl, his works have impacted me and shaped me as a person through his texts. Some of
the most influential lessons that I learned in life outside of my home and the teachings of my
parents have come from his well-known books like Matilda, The BFG, Charlie and the
Chocolate Factory, and The Witches, all of which I read as a child. It is amazing to look back on

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these books and the messages that were meant at teaching children and realizing that they still
apply to your life today.
Sometimes good things come out of bad situations, the people you are born with arent
necessarily the best family for you, and that no matter how small or minuscule you may feel, you
can still make a difference are all morals imprinted in my brain from reading the book Matilda.
These morals are important for me in regards to when I become a teacher. Being an educator
means making the best out the limited resources you may have, making the best out of a poor
situation. This book began to open children up to the diversity of other students, no one knows
what a person goes through at home or what they may have been through, they might even be
adopted or in an unconventional home. Thinking about this makes me realize the challenges of
making alterations to the lessons I will teach and taking into consideration that I do not know
what my students have endured in their young lives. The last lesson I took away from the book is
one of the most important for every child to realize, in my opinion. You may feel small, but it is
not your size that defines you and what you can do. Children need a reminder of this, I even
needed a reminder of this as a child. My goal is to spread this through teaching, showing kids
that you do not need to be an adult to make differences in the world.
People come in all shapes, sizes, and races, but does this define them as a person? How
are you supposed to teach this to a child whose life is surrounded by the unknown, false myths,
and stereotypes? I feel the book The BFG, also known as the Big Friendly Giant does a fantastic
job of illustrating this. It has taught many kids, including myself, this lesson since 1982 and
continues today. It show kids that what you see when you look at a person has nothing to do with
their personality. Teaching children at the elementary level, a time when children are vulnerable,
is not just about the reading, math, and science, it is also a big part of your role to teach them

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these valuable lessons. An aspect of teaching that I really enjoy is being able to broaden someone
else horizons and shape their world view, sort of how this book has helped me. Another one of
the books exemplifying this message or lesson is The Witches. The protagonists in this book were
not the typical kids you would expect to be heroes, the main character is a small his age boy with
glasses, accompanied by another boy who is overweight. The two boys are turned into mice
while staying at a hotel that is hosting a witchs convention. The two then must devise a plan to
get themselves turned back into humans. In most books these are not the average main
characters, which is why this book is great at showing that people arent defined by appearances.
This is key while teaching, making sure each child feels special regardless of their shape, size, or
race.
Although elementary teachers are not there to raise children or to initially teach them
their values and morals, I feel that they, however, are there to help reinforce the values and
morals that should be taught at home, while teaching. Obedience and Patience are examples of
this, they might even the hardest to teach young children. The book Charlie and the Chocolate
Factory does this in a good way without making the story uninteresting or all about rules. It
shows kids that there are consequences for their actions or consequences for not doing as told for
example Violet Beueregarde, a gum obsessed girl, ate a piece of gum from the Wonka factory
despite being told not to and it then turned her skin blue. Teaching this lesson through this book
is something I see myself doing when I begin teaching. I hope to provide the basis for them to
make a connection to this books as my teachers have for me in elementary school.
Changing directions, from books that are significant to me through the connections it has
with my world views and how I will apply these to teaching, I will now discuss a book that has a
personal connection to me and teaching. The book Hatchet by Gary Paulsen was probably one

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of the worst books I ever read in elementary school. I do not really even remember the reasons
why I hated the book so much but I actively remember hating it. The book was read to my class
in the fifth grade by one of my favorite teachers I have ever had. She was an influential person in
my reasoning for wanting to be a teacher, the book reminds of all the experiences that I had
during that year and the lessons I learned. The way that she interacted with our class providing
everyone with individual attention when needed and disciplining in the most effective and fairest
way possible. She began showing us ways to be more independent as students and overall
individuals. Her lessons went far beyond the classroom. If I had to choose one teacher that made
the biggest impact in my life it would be her, I want to model the way I teach on the way she
taught me. Reading the book Hatchet continues to remind me of that teacher and some of the
core reasons I want to teach.
My goal is to take every single lesson that I have learned through these texts and apply
them to my teaching in the future. The texts are important to me because of what I learned from
them as a child and how they shape my views and because of the personal feelings attached to
them. I want every child that I teach to enjoy and learn from these texts as I did as a child.

Books are the quietest and most constant of friends they are the most accessible and
wisest of counselors and the most patient of teachers. (Unknown)

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