Hi there! Welcome to my little corner of the internet.
I am a fifth grade teacher in the great state of NJ! I have spent the past 16 years in education, the first 4 were in 1st grade and the last 12 have been in 5th grade. I am a mom to two awesome kids, a wife to one awesome husband, and a teacher to many.
I am the 2015 NJ State Teacher of the Year finalist, 2015 Middlesex County Teacher of the Year, a recipient of “Teachers Who Make Magic”, and was featured as ABC World News Person of the Week with my class in 2014.
I have a few core beliefs when it comes to education…
1- All kids are good kids. ALL. Some kids have had harder circumstances, some kids have faced challenges we can’t even imagine, but all kids want to do right. Help them.
2- All kids want to be loved. Show them love, unconditionally. Behavior issues can be (almost always) eliminated if a culture of love and respect is the dominating force.
3- All books are good books. Maybe you don’t like it, maybe it’s not “good” literature, but to some kid out there, it just might be the book that makes them love reading. There are no limitations on what kids read in my room.
4- Kids need diverse books. Even if you teach in a completely non-diverse school, kids need to be exposed to what the world looks like. Also, children need to see themselves in the books they read. Teachers need to me a conscious effort to diversify what they read to kids, what they stock in their classrooms, and how they share these books with students. Books teach us empathy and compassion…. they also teach us lessons and expose us to worlds we cannot reach on our own. Embrace the power of diverse literature.
Cardoso's Literacy Lab 