Confessions of a Bibliomaniac
In my lifetime, keeping my nose in a book has kept me out of a fair amount of trouble. There aren’t many harmful side effects to being a voracious reader…except the risk of accumulating dangerous amounts of imagination. I’m blameworthy since I fed my insatiable appetite by gobbling up fiction during my childhood. Who knew that Nancy Drew, Junie B. Jones, Amelia’s Notebook, Anne of Green Gables, and Dear America could be so treacherous to a young mind! I was a talented reader as a student and devotedly practiced my skills. As an adult, I found my purpose in classroom teaching and sharing this priceless gift with children.
Literacy is freedom. I bow to this belief and encourage others to surrender to it. The knowledge acquired from books is akin to opening windows, walking through doors, and peering into mirrors. One catches glimpses of others’ lives, gains the superpower of transporting into other worlds, and feeling seen by sharing familiar traits and qualities of characters. And what better way to know someone than to peer at their home bookshelf? It’s a simple act of appreciation for their interests and intellect with that insightful capture. Literacy is a personal exercise of fueling our minds, simultaneously serving as a vehicle for deep, meaningful interpersonal connection.
More than one year ago, I made the difficult decision of donating the majority of my books, amounting to more than 100 pounds of deceased trees. I wouldn’t describe collecting books as being materialistic but I amassed so many that it became unmanageable. It was time for them to go on their wayward path and captivate curious strangers. Many hadn’t been touched in years. I had to let them go. Now I’ve adopted the practice of forwarding a completed book to a friend, and maintaining a collection rotation similar to a library. I am also a supporter of borrowing from the New York Public Library and will be attending the member book swap Thursday at the Stavros Niarchos branch.
In 2014, I graduated with my master’s degree in literacy education from the University of Pennsylvania. The primary focus of my studies has been meta reflexive: I have read A LOT about reading; the history, science, sociocultural significance, and of course, the wonder it brings. Most importantly, I learned how to explicitly instruct and motivate readers to build confidence in their abilities. Early childhood skills like naming objects for word association, using multisensory approaches with neurodiverse learners, and alphabetic knowledge.
The five basic pillars of reading are phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary expansion, fluency, and comprehension. All five pillars are critical to the foundation. It is noted that after third grade there is a shift from “learning to read” to "reading to learn”. As an educator, I have observed the importance of early intervention for reading challenges firsthand. If a child is identified as having a language-based learning disability and does not receive adequate support from a specialist, the impact on the course of their academic trajectory is staggering.
My early career began in the Philadelphia Public Schools as a K-3 reading specialist. I went on to teach at Rawson Saunders School in Austin, Texas as an academic language therapist. In Austin, I underwent intensive training in Orton-Gillingham training and served dyslexic students with individualized programming.
Before transitioning to remote work in education technology in 2021, I taught children how to read for six years. I have personal recollections of my experience with most students since my casework was 1-on-1 programming. This type of instruction is an immersive experience where teachers and students form a close bond and relationship, a way of knowing one another that does not happen in a typical mainstream classroom. I did not stand or lecture, I had the privilege of sitting beside them, and I am incredibly grateful for that. My students were gifted in many ways, with advanced audible memory, creativity, imagination, oral communication skills, to name a few.
The daily habit of reading and writing is hygienic for our brains. This year I set a goal to read 22 books, and I’m nearly completing #30. Add me on Goodreads!
Are you a softcover or a hardcover person? Whichever your preference, keep reading.
