Hi, I'm Emily :)
Ever since I was a kid, I have loved to read. When I was young I prided myself on the fact that I was reading a much higher reading level than many of my peers. My favorite place was the library and my most rebellious act was staying up until 2AM with a book in one hand and a flashlight in the other.
Over the years, my enthusiasm about reading dimmed as required reading for school became a bigger part of my life. It only got worse in high school when reading for pleasure took a backseat to my part time job, extracurricular activities, social life and heavy course load. But alas, I decided to major in English in college, hoping to reawaken my love for reading and writing.
It worked! In college, something clicked for me. I was inhaling books-- both ones that were assigned to me and ones that I chose to read. For the first time in a long time, I found myself connecting with books that I had to read for class.. go figure!
Then I went to grad school, and became a high school English teacher, which I've been doing for a few years now. Teaching English to high school students has given me a completely new outlook on reading. I've had to re-read the classics from the high school canon again and again, always thinking of new ways to engage my students in the book... trying to get them to connect the book to their own lives. In this way, I have come to gain a new appreciation for literature: the places it can take you, and the ways it can help you to better understand your own life and the world around you. This is what I hope to teach my students as well.
I'll admit, finding the time to read for pleasure while also grading papers, planning lessons, and reading books on the curriculum at school is a challenge, but it is well worth it. I understand now that finding the time to read for pleasure makes me a better teacher, a better person, and a better citizen of the world.
I tend to enjoy 20th century American literature the most, and I love many of the "classics" that I teach: To Kill a Mockingbird, The Catcher in the Rye, Their Eyes Were Watching God, and The Great Gatsby are some of my favorites. However in my spare time I like to read more contemporary fiction, including popular literature (ie. New York Times Bestsellers) in hopes that I can find new works that my students will enjoy. I've read the Harry Potter and Twilight series, and I also enjoyed popular novels such as The Life of Pi, Wicked, The Kite Runner, The Secret Life of Bees, and, I'll admit it, a few Nicholas Sparks books.
