Class Library: The Need to Read

Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month

This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.

These students are suddenly interested in reading! The school that I work at is a charter school in a high-need and impoverished minority community. I teach four sections/classes of Latino & African American Literature consisting of 9th and 10th grade students. I also teach a section of U.S. Literature which consists of a mix of 11th and 12th graders. Imagine my surprise when my students recently expressed a desire to read books on their OWN! My excitement upon hearing this information was palpable.

My students are faced with obstacles on a daily basis. They are confronted with a million temptations and distractions, but they remain focused and attend school regularly. A number of my students have special needs or are English Language Learners (ELLs). In order to achieve higher grades, respect, and a better future my students demonstrate outstanding leadership and maintain a clear sense of purpose. Our academics are extremely challenging, and in order to move on to the next level our students must fulfill all the current requirements. This includes being consistently on time in terms of attendance and submitted work, and often exhibiting thoughtfulness and maturity far beyond their years.

My students' interests are peaked. They are bombarded by popular culture in terms of music, video games, and television. They have recently expressed a desire to read MORE. As such, I want to give them the books that will sustain that interest. I want to encourage them to use their imaginations, a muscle that most children in today's society rarely use anymore. The donation of these materials will serve my students well in their future by instilling in them a love of the written word. This love will translate to their speech and mental faculties by improving their vocabulary and grammar.

Your help will ensure that my students continue to grow as readers, writers, and speakers in their community. In a world where funding for our public libraries is being cut, please don't deny my students the opportunity to lose themselves in the world of literature.