{"id":5436,"date":"2019-09-24T14:09:20","date_gmt":"2019-09-24T18:09:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/education-information\/?p=5436"},"modified":"2024-02-12T08:34:26","modified_gmt":"2024-02-12T13:34:26","slug":"a-classroom-library-for-the-love-of-reading","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/education-information\/a-classroom-library-for-the-love-of-reading\/","title":{"rendered":"A Classroom Library for the Love of Reading"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"classroom<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The following is an inspirational story told by one of our SPC College of Education students that speaks to her love of reading and the powerful influence she will have as an educator. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uncle George instantly became an inspiration to me and my future classroom. It started as a usual Saturday morning, a late snooze (for me, 9 a.m.) and watching the clouds roll by. A fellow pre-service teacher dinged into our cohort group chat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                 S.L.: Safety Harbor library is having a book sale… they have children’s books for a $1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  K.C.:\nCool! I wish I could go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    With Saturdays\nbeing my only day off, I wasn’t expecting to be doing anything crazy, and\nSafety Harbor is quite the drive from downtown St. Petersburg. About half an\nhour later, another notification came from my friend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  S.L.:\nThey’re doing discounts for teachers, I got like 40 books for $20!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

   I realized at this moment this was an opportunity I could not pass up! I packed a bag, called my mom, who likes books as much as I do so I figured she’d like to meet me there, and headed out the door. My instructors in the education program<\/a> at St. Petersburg College<\/a>, Dr. Gauweiler, Dr. Watkins, and Dr. Biggs, have instilled in us the urgency to get books when we can as teachers. So, I couldn’t miss this chance!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

   A Starbucks stop and some light traffic later, I reached the Safety Harbor Library<\/a> Friends of the Library event. I met my mom at the curb, and we headed inside with our usual excitement for new books. As we entered the hall, I ran into another of my friends from our cohort! He must’ve seen the group chat as well. We caught up for a moment and then began filling our arms with books.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

   There were so many books, I could hardly believe it! Thankfully, my dad came along as well. I started pilling books in his arms that nearly reached his chin! A kind volunteer brought him a box and cleared a space on a table so I could collect more books without causing my dad any physical stress. I had a lot of books in a short amount of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

   My mom had found a couple books for me as we perused the selections. I was impressed with the amount of books that were inclusive, diverse and interesting for children. I had to get them all! Eventually, I had picked through each children’s section and was pleased with my selection. I had enough to start a small classroom library.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    While I perused a\nbit more, just to be sure I got everything, I had a nice conversation with one\nof the volunteers who was talking with my dad. I had told him that I was\ncollecting for my future classroom and that I was a future teacher. He said,\n“You should have said something!” He scurried off for a moment to the\ncheckout table and returned with a sticky note. He scribbled something onto the\nnote and slapped on to the stack of books in the box. It read “$15,\nCK.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    “We support\nour teachers,” he said. “No matter how many more books you grab, just\nbring this sticky note to the checkout.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    “Oh, thank you!\nThat is far too generous,” I replied. He gave me a pat on the shoulder and\nwandered off to help some others browsing the books.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I found a couple\nmore books for intermediate grades, corralled my mom from wandering the hall\nfor a third time, and brought the box of books to the checkout. Another\nvolunteer asked me about my books.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    “Wow! You must\nlike to read,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    “Oh, these are\nactually for my classroom library,” I said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    “You don’t use\nthose tablets in your class?” He asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    “Well, my\ninstructor has taught us to use technology as a resource,” I replied.\n“But I prefer actual books for students to use rather than iPads.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    “I like your\nphilosophy. Books are so important, and I can’t stand teachers and parents just\ngiving kids a computer,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     We talked some\nmore until it was my turn to cash out for the books. I handed the lady at the\nregister the sticky note and proceeded to pull out my wallet. Suddenly, the\ngentleman I was just speaking with handed a handful of cash to the lady at the\nregister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    “We need to\ntake care of our teachers,” he said to her. He looked at me, “You’re\ngoing to be a great teacher one day, and I want to do what I can to get you\nstarted on a good foot. So, take this as a gift from Uncle George. He was my\nuncle, and before he died he told me to respect teachers and support them when\nyou can.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I was astonished\nand overwhelmed by his kindness. “Thank you,” I said. “Thank you\nso much. That is so very kind of you. How could I repay you?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    “Just name\nyour classroom library after my uncle,” he said. “He would have loved\nthat.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    So, with tears in\nmy eyes, I gave a nod and a hug to the gentleman before carrying the box of\nbooks to my car. This is the beginning of Uncle George’s Library. A classroom\nlibrary built on the foundations of kindness, generosity, and a passion for\nreading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Thank you Uncle\nGeorge, your kindness and your nephew’s generosity will always be remembered.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The following is an inspirational story told by one of our SPC College of Education students that speaks to her love of reading and the powerful influence she will have as an educator. Uncle George instantly became an inspiration to me and my future classroom. It started as a usual Saturday morning, a late snooze … Continue reading A Classroom Library for the Love of Reading<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,3,31],"tags":[],"coauthors":[41],"class_list":["post-5436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-college-of-education","category-elementary-education","category-featured"],"yoast_head":"\r\nA Classroom Library for the Love of Reading - Education<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A St. Petersburg College student shares how she began to build her classroom library, with the help of a kind and supportive stranger.\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/education-information\/a-classroom-library-for-the-love-of-reading\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Classroom Library for the Love of Reading - Education\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A St. Petersburg College student shares how she began to build her classroom library, with the help of a kind and supportive stranger.\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/education-information\/a-classroom-library-for-the-love-of-reading\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Education\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-09-24T18:09:20+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-02-12T13:34:26+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/education-information\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/Uncle-George-Libraray-1-1024x919.jpeg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Francine Fuentes\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Francine Fuentes\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/education-information\\\/a-classroom-library-for-the-love-of-reading\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/education-information\\\/a-classroom-library-for-the-love-of-reading\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Francine Fuentes\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/education-information\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2b9f5a52670a0aaf38405c7207b15e98\"},\"headline\":\"A Classroom Library for the Love of Reading\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-09-24T18:09:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-02-12T13:34:26+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/education-information\\\/a-classroom-library-for-the-love-of-reading\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1023,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/education-information\\\/a-classroom-library-for-the-love-of-reading\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/education-information\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2019\\\/09\\\/Uncle-George-Libraray-1-1024x919.jpeg\",\"articleSection\":[\"College of Education\",\"Elementary Education\",\"Featured\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/education-information\\\/a-classroom-library-for-the-love-of-reading\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/education-information\\\/a-classroom-library-for-the-love-of-reading\\\/\",\"name\":\"A Classroom Library for the Love of Reading - Education\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/education-information\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/education-information\\\/a-classroom-library-for-the-love-of-reading\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/education-information\\\/a-classroom-library-for-the-love-of-reading\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/education-information\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2019\\\/09\\\/Uncle-George-Libraray-1-1024x919.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-09-24T18:09:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-02-12T13:34:26+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/education-information\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2b9f5a52670a0aaf38405c7207b15e98\"},\"description\":\"A St. Petersburg College student shares how she began to build her classroom library, with the help of a kind and supportive stranger.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/education-information\\\/a-classroom-library-for-the-love-of-reading\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/education-information\\\/a-classroom-library-for-the-love-of-reading\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/education-information\\\/a-classroom-library-for-the-love-of-reading\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/education-information\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2019\\\/09\\\/Uncle-George-Libraray-1.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/education-information\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2019\\\/09\\\/Uncle-George-Libraray-1.jpeg\",\"width\":1203,\"height\":1080,\"caption\":\"classroom library\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/education-information\\\/a-classroom-library-for-the-love-of-reading\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/education-information\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A Classroom Library for the Love of Reading\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/education-information\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/education-information\\\/\",\"name\":\"Education\",\"description\":\"Learn what it takes to answer the calling to become a teacher and excel in the education field.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/education-information\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/education-information\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2b9f5a52670a0aaf38405c7207b15e98\",\"name\":\"Francine Fuentes\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3590c4894c617d907c6696ae5218b76eab6272b63961cb28c2612e80b7e3765b?s=96&d=mm&r=gc0aeda10968ac79399acc5b6b37f6f3b\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3590c4894c617d907c6696ae5218b76eab6272b63961cb28c2612e80b7e3765b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3590c4894c617d907c6696ae5218b76eab6272b63961cb28c2612e80b7e3765b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Francine Fuentes\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/education-information\\\/author\\\/francine-fuentes\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\r\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A Classroom Library for the Love of Reading - Education","description":"A St. Petersburg College student shares how she began to build her classroom library, with the help of a kind and supportive stranger.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/education-information\/a-classroom-library-for-the-love-of-reading\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A Classroom Library for the Love of Reading - Education","og_description":"A St. Petersburg College student shares how she began to build her classroom library, with the help of a kind and supportive stranger.","og_url":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/education-information\/a-classroom-library-for-the-love-of-reading\/","og_site_name":"Education","article_published_time":"2019-09-24T18:09:20+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-02-12T13:34:26+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/education-information\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/Uncle-George-Libraray-1-1024x919.jpeg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Francine Fuentes","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Francine Fuentes","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/education-information\/a-classroom-library-for-the-love-of-reading\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/education-information\/a-classroom-library-for-the-love-of-reading\/"},"author":{"name":"Francine Fuentes","@id":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/education-information\/#\/schema\/person\/2b9f5a52670a0aaf38405c7207b15e98"},"headline":"A Classroom Library for the Love of Reading","datePublished":"2019-09-24T18:09:20+00:00","dateModified":"2024-02-12T13:34:26+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/education-information\/a-classroom-library-for-the-love-of-reading\/"},"wordCount":1023,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/education-information\/a-classroom-library-for-the-love-of-reading\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/education-information\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/Uncle-George-Libraray-1-1024x919.jpeg","articleSection":["College of Education","Elementary Education","Featured"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/education-information\/a-classroom-library-for-the-love-of-reading\/","url":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/education-information\/a-classroom-library-for-the-love-of-reading\/","name":"A Classroom Library for the Love of Reading - Education","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/education-information\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/education-information\/a-classroom-library-for-the-love-of-reading\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/education-information\/a-classroom-library-for-the-love-of-reading\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/education-information\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/Uncle-George-Libraray-1-1024x919.jpeg","datePublished":"2019-09-24T18:09:20+00:00","dateModified":"2024-02-12T13:34:26+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/education-information\/#\/schema\/person\/2b9f5a52670a0aaf38405c7207b15e98"},"description":"A St. Petersburg College student shares how she began to build her classroom library, with the help of a kind and supportive stranger.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/education-information\/a-classroom-library-for-the-love-of-reading\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/education-information\/a-classroom-library-for-the-love-of-reading\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/education-information\/a-classroom-library-for-the-love-of-reading\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/education-information\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/Uncle-George-Libraray-1.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/education-information\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/Uncle-George-Libraray-1.jpeg","width":1203,"height":1080,"caption":"classroom library"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/education-information\/a-classroom-library-for-the-love-of-reading\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/education-information\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A Classroom Library for the Love of Reading"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/education-information\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/education-information\/","name":"Education","description":"Learn what it takes to answer the calling to become a teacher and excel in the education field.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/education-information\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/education-information\/#\/schema\/person\/2b9f5a52670a0aaf38405c7207b15e98","name":"Francine Fuentes","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3590c4894c617d907c6696ae5218b76eab6272b63961cb28c2612e80b7e3765b?s=96&d=mm&r=gc0aeda10968ac79399acc5b6b37f6f3b","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3590c4894c617d907c6696ae5218b76eab6272b63961cb28c2612e80b7e3765b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3590c4894c617d907c6696ae5218b76eab6272b63961cb28c2612e80b7e3765b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Francine Fuentes"},"url":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/education-information\/author\/francine-fuentes\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/education-information\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/education-information\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/education-information\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/education-information\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/76"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/education-information\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5436"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/education-information\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5436\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5498,"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/education-information\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5436\/revisions\/5498"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/education-information\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/education-information\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/education-information\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5436"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/education-information\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=5436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}