Educating Esmé
Kenzie Blankenship
Summary
Educating Esmé was a story based on a true story about a woman and her first year of teaching. She makes objects to help in her teaching. For example, using a refrigerator box as a time machine for social studies. As time goes on she must deal with kids that have problems, but she tries and helps them in creative ways. She has what she calls a "Love Hate Relationship" with the Principle Mr. Turner. As it comes to the last day of school Esmé tears up and her kids give her a gift that makes it harder for her to say goodbye.
How Could it Help Me?
While reading Educating Esmé it taught me that when I have my own classroom I need to have cool ways to teach. In the book it said she made a time machine out a refrigerator box to help in social studies, and they would go outside for science so they can actually touch things and if the students were learning about trees or plants they would also go outside to check it out. Esmé was BRILLIANT. She really taught me how to make my classroom a fun environment to help kids learn in a fun way. It reminds me of a Montessori pre-school I took a visit to when they were doing fun activities but learning at the same time and they didn't even realize it.
How it impacts me as a Learner.
This story impacts me as a learner because she talks about the struggles about being a teacher. She taught me how to use different creative ideas to help the students learn. It tells me how to take care of issues with children. It makes me think that I need to be able to handle any situation that comes to me.
Questions as I was reading....
While reading it kept running through my head... How would she reward children in her class? Almost all teachers I know or seen reward their students if they do something correct or without the teacher telling them to do something. So, how does Esmé reward her students?