Who do I thank for becoming a writer?
My first grade teacher, Mrs. Ghormley was one. I was struggling enough with reading and writing that there was talk about holding me back a year. She spent a lot of (unpaid) time, helping me read and write, developing ways that motivated me to try harder and not give up. She 'custom made' education for every one of her students, regardless of how much extra work it gave her.
We had a giant ice cream party at the end of the year where we could earn extra scoops and toppings by finishing reading goals. We also had a class pet, a black rabbit named Floppy. Instead of reading to people, we would read to her. She didn't talk back, laugh at you if you made a mistake, or correct every word you said. It was genius. I got over my fear of reading out loud and really improved in my reading skills. She also let us bring Floppy home on the weekends and holidays when we met our goals in class. Which is just a great idea that has really picked up all over the country the last few years. Reading to shelter dogs, therapy dogs, cats, rabbits, etc. It's a confidence builder for kids and also great for animals!
My education improved so much that year that I not only moved on to the next grade with my class but I also wrote a book for the young author contest that was a finalist out of the entire school.
A lot of people, really, but a few people really played a major part in launching my career as a writer.
My first grade teacher, Mrs. Ghormley was one. I was struggling enough with reading and writing that there was talk about holding me back a year. She spent a lot of (unpaid) time, helping me read and write, developing ways that motivated me to try harder and not give up. She 'custom made' education for every one of her students, regardless of how much extra work it gave her.
We had a giant ice cream party at the end of the year where we could earn extra scoops and toppings by finishing reading goals. We also had a class pet, a black rabbit named Floppy. Instead of reading to people, we would read to her. She didn't talk back, laugh at you if you made a mistake, or correct every word you said. It was genius. I got over my fear of reading out loud and really improved in my reading skills. She also let us bring Floppy home on the weekends and holidays when we met our goals in class. Which is just a great idea that has really picked up all over the country the last few years. Reading to shelter dogs, therapy dogs, cats, rabbits, etc. It's a confidence builder for kids and also great for animals!
My education improved so much that year that I not only moved on to the next grade with my class but I also wrote a book for the young author contest that was a finalist out of the entire school.
Moving on to high school I had even more teachers that helped encourage and cultivate my love for the written word. English isn't the most popular subject in school but I was lucky enough to have many teachers that made it an interesting and important subject. My creative writing teacher, Miss Hynes, didn't treat her class like we had to write the assignments just to get a good grade. She encouraged us to write great things that meant something, to us and to the reader.
My mother, also a teacher, (noticing a theme here?) was also very encouraging and supportive. She never put limits on my dreams and aspirations.
My grandma, who supported my mom unfailingly while she went to college to become a teacher while raising three girls, read through every horrible manuscript I wasted printer ink on and always had good comments as well as constructive criticism. She really encouraged me to self publish when I was too afraid to take that leap.
I'll interject a huge shout-out to teachers here. Your hard work does make a difference in student's lives. What you teach, how you encourage, all those extra things you do, could really change someone's life. You are the unsung heroes in life.
You never know who might inspire you to follow your dreams but those people will never give up on you. I just hope the ones in my life know how much their support means to me. :)
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