Post #4: Some Questions to Explore Reading Lives

    The current book I am reading usually travels around with me in my work/grad school backpack or in an oversized black tote. The exact part of my backpack is in the large compartment, right between my Chromebook and iPad. When I carry my current book in my tote, I'll place it in the laptop compartment with padding, to give my book extra protection. I'll usually throw in a water bottle and snack in my purse, so I like to have my book protected. 

    I usually like to wake up around 4:30 or 5 am to help my mom make breakfast and lunch for my family. Around 6 am, I head to work to prepare my classroom for the day. I greet my 6th-grade students at my classroom door at 7:45 and we start class at 8:30. I have 5 class periods that I teach ELAR. Four of my class periods, I teach from 8:30-12:39. I have my lunch and conference period from 12:40-2:15. During my lunch, I like to catch up on some reading for at least 10-15 minutes of my 30-minute lunch. I teach my 6th period and intervention time from 2:18-3:55. I work the bus/car rider line until about 4:15. After work, I like to make any copies I might need for the next day. Wednesday through Fridays, since I don't have grad classes, I arrive at my house around 6. I'll work out, help cook, and eat dinner. The little reading appointments that might be possible during my day would be after 8 pm, right before bed. On the weekends, I like to make reading appointments either for Saturday mornings or Sunday evenings. 

    My favorite place to read is in my bed with my Hooga reading light, with a nice cup of hot green tea. The only books I can read on my bed are books that I read for fun, self-selected books. In order for me to study at home, I would have to read my textbooks either at my kitchen table or office desk, but they have to be completely cleaned off, with no distractions. I have to have my study place completely clean because if not I will start trying to organize, clean, or get distracted by another task. I've never had to read on the bus but during long road trips with my family, I like to read romance, fantasy, or memoirs. I have tried to read textbooks during road trips but tend to get very distracted and unmotivated. I can get very easily distracted by the smallest things, to deal with this challenge, I like to play instrumental music that I don't know the lyrics to the original song. I also like to have a small nee doh ball to ease any anxiety or stress. 

    I like to share what I am currently reading with my boyfriend, little sister, mom, and students. I sometimes think about telling about my book to my teammates at work. My classmates usually give me great book recommendations, last semester, one of my classmates recommended me one of my new favorite books, Educated. I wonder about my professors reading, I would love to know what book recommendations they may have for me. 

    I would choose to read a young adult book if I wanted to pick something that would go super fast and that would give me no problem at all. On my book bucket list is the young adult historical fiction book Esperanza Renace, it is the Spanish edition of Esperanza Rising. I have read Esperanza Rising, the English edition, 3 times now, but I would love to read the Spanish edition to my little sister. 

Post #3: Slice of Life- Start of My Teaching Journey

 I had no idea the journey that I would begin when I woke up on Thursday, December 12, 2019. 

    One of my bilingual college professors, Dr. Y, had invited his entire EDBI 3387 class to the Bilingual/ESL Conference at Region 4 ESC. He had offered to pay the entire entry fee ($450) for all 6 of us. I was so excited to take part in this conference because it was my first official conference. In just 2 days I would walk the stage and graduate with my Bachelors of Science in Bilingual Elementary Education and Spanish. 

    I had not yet secured a job, but I was not too worried about it. I was offered a job in Alief ISD but I declined because I wanted to move back home to Conroe to be with my family for a couple of years. I had decided to become a substitute for Conroe ISD, just for the spring of 2020, since I was graduating in December. I felt that I just needed a break, but God had bigger and better plans for me. 

    I woke very early that Thursday morning, full of energy and excitement. I wasn't exactly sure what I would learn or do at the conference, but I had a feeling that it was going to be great. I wanted to arrive at the conference early, so I left about an hour before I needed to. To make sure I had the correct address, I copy and pasted the address my professor had emailed the whole class. I didn't want to google the building in fear of going to the wrong region-building. I felt that the best thing to do was just copy and paste it directly from Dr. Y's email. I got in my car and drove to the address that my GPS was taking me to. Once my GPS notified me that I had arrived, I looked around in a panic, there was no region 4 building in sight! I was surrounded by trees and a couple of small houses. I anxiously called my professor, he told me to check the address I had pasted into the GPS and read it back to him. I read the address and told him "I copy and pasted it from your email so I wouldn't get it wrong". He apologized and told me that he had forgotten to add the "NW" to the address he had emailed out to us. I quickly put the correct address into my GPS and saw that it was going to be another 1-hour drive! I didn't mind the drive but it did mean I was going to be late for the start of the conference. 

    I drove as fast and safe as I could through the Houston traffic. I checked in at the front desk and looked for my classmates and professor. Luckily, the keynote speaker was still presenting in the opening session. I took out my iPad to take a couple of notes. After the opening session ended, my professor apologized to me again and told me he wanted to introduce me to the bilingual director of Splendora ISD. Still embarrassed for arriving late, my face was burning red and I shook her hand. She then asked me if I could email her my resume because Dr. Y had talked about me to her before the conference. She offered me a PreKindergarten dual-language position. And so, my teaching journey began.