I Would Rather Be Reading - G4G 2024

In 2013, I started as first grade teacher at Jacob Elementary. I loved my kids, my job, my classroom, and my school. During one particular reading lesson, I remember being so proud of my book choice! To me, it was relatable, had all the phonics skills present that my small group of learners needed to practice, and had our word of week (was!) present throughout. I was pleased as punch. 

Once my kids got to my small group table, and I introduced the book, one of my bubbly babies was a bit off. Usually, she was the sweetest, most jovial kid in my class. But on this day, she laid her head on the table. Thinking she needed a minute, or was sleepy early in the morning, I told her "I'll start over here and check in with you in just a minute." When I got to her, she was crying silent tears with her head still down. I was so alarmed. I had truly never seen this sweet angel cry. After bringing her over to our calm down corner, she told me that the night before, her dad was arrested, and her mom did not know when he would be coming back home. The book I had chosen was the last straw for keeping it together. She worried about not being able to do the things in the book with her dad. 

She carried this knowledge into school with her and carried on with her day like a champ. I learned a really hard lesson that day as an educator. No matter how great the content is, how well-planned the lesson is, relationships must come first. The human connection is the most fundamental component to any growth that takes place. 

Fast forward to 2018, and many kids in my classroom since my very first year, and I Would Rather Be Reading was founded. IWRBR exists not to replace the classroom, or the curriculum, but to enhance it. We provide after school programs and summer camps, where relationships and feeling loved and safe come first. We provide literacy interventions for the students that are behind, meals and dinners for students who are hungry, and enriching experiences for kids that need to know what is possible in the world for them. We are a wrap-around support for students, families, and teachers. IWRBR exists to fill the gaps that might otherwise leave our children behind, to nurture their growth and potential, so that love can be the foundation upon which they build their dreams.