Why I Read: Stern Center Instructor, Sandy Boyer

by Sandy Boyer

Photo by Geralt

Marcus Pfister's book, The Rainbow Fish, Sam McBratney's Guess How Much I Love You, and Shel Silverstein's poetry book, The Light in the Attic, are three of the favorites that my now 16-year-old teen recalls as his favorite reads as a young child. Rainbow Fish shares his scales after much hesitation and as a result, becomes the happiest fish in the sea. Little Nutbrown Hare poses the question, "Guess how much I love you?" to Big Nutbrown Hare to make sure his parent is listening. The poetic lines of Wild Strawberries, "Are Wild Strawberries really wild? Will they scratch an adult, will they snap at a child?" consider possibilities of taming your wild strawberry in a most figurative manner. 

Reading is a most fun and creative way to communicate, share life lessons, investigate and question, and just spend time having fun with young children and older ones, as well. It is these special times which begin to nurture and develop the confidence that is needed to grow and succeed.

I remember an undergraduate professor in one of my music education classes had a heart-to-heart talk with those nine or 10 of us in the small class. She sternly told us that if we did not love children and did not want to teach them, then we should not become music educators as the profession was not just about teaching music; it was about helping kids learn about, experience, and love music. 

Music was my world in undergraduate college, and although I only had experience from observing and practice-teaching kids in music classes, I decided that teaching kids to read was equally important and a better goal for me at that time. It took awhile to work through student teaching and a graduate program, and even more time to gain experience all the while questioning how kids best learn to read. But, it was worth all the years as I still continue to learn, enjoy, and feel motivated by helping each student progress forward with not only reading skills, but with that "I can" attitude towards life.

Whether it is a board book that becomes a baby's best friend, a novel that travels with a child for company, a silly poem that makes us laugh, a book on Einstein's Theory of Relativity or Tesla's investigation of alternating currents, reading is our link to life, an extension from what we know at the time. This summer I have enjoyed reading Andrew Clements book, Frindle, about how an inquisitive student creates a new word. I've also very much enjoyed Margaret Peterson Haddix's Shadow Children series which follows a group of kids journeying back in time to find their true identities. Even a simple story for the emerging reader, Sam and Al, tells of trust between two friends, a lion and his keeper. 

I read to help others enjoy the knowledge that reading brings, but sometimes when I am not too sleepy at night, I may just read a book or revisit Big Nutbrown Hare's whisper to Little Nutbrown Hare, "I love you right up to the moon-and back."

Sandra Boyer provides one-on-one literacy instruction to students, kindergarten through adult. She received her Masters degree in Education from Saint Michael’s College with additional graduate work in language and literacy. Sandy has enjoyed working with a variety of students and collaborating with parents and teachers within the Stern Center community for 18 years. She loves to spend time outdoors and can be found on weekends in the fall helping with the family apple orchard.