As a Language Arts/Special Education teacher, reading is a huge part of my life. I hope to teach my students not only how to read but also how to be passionate lifelong readers. Reading is an integral part of being a learner and citizen in this age. Not only is reading an integral part of one’s educational journey or career readiness, but it also allows one to be a lifelong learner. Reading opens the door to other worlds, it allows us to feel empathy for others, we get to meet people in the pages of books that we may not be able to meet otherwise, it allows us to see other perspectives and check our own biases, and it helps us cultivate our own minds as creative thinkers.

Reading is also hard. I see this every day in how my students work so hard to make meaning from the words on the page but I also see them light up when they find a story that resonates with them.

Reading is time consuming. As a Reading teacher, I never can find enough time to actually read. I really hope that this place will motivate and push me to read more and to read more broadly.

Reading is so necessary.