Join us this year in a five-part series while we follow the journey of Courtney Smith at Clemson University as she trains to be a Teacher Leader.

By Courtney Smith

Have you ever bought a new fancy water bottle or a cute new coffee cup only to pull the price tag or barcode label off and have but a scrap of the label come off in your hand? It’s frustrating, and it makes you question and wonder who are the people who put these labels right in the toughest place to get rid of them.

Labels stick. They’re sticky, and messy, and mar the surface of a perfectly cute water bottle. Sure, sometimes they come off easily — but sometimes they stick, and it takes a lot of work to get the label and its’ residue off. You have to scrub, soak it and even run it through the dishwasher several times.

As a kindergarten student, I was labeled as a struggling reader because I couldn’t rhyme or hear sounds as easily as the other students. I was blessed to have parents who provided me with additional support outside of school to get the help I needed to remove that label. So many of the students we serve, without Reading Recovery, would be unable to remove the struggling reader label.

At the end of the year in kindergarten, we had a class play in which each student held a letter and named a word that began with that letter. My letter was O, and my line was, “O is for obstinate.” (My mom swears it’s not because of my behavior but because I was the only one who could pronounce the word.) Maybe everything I need to know I really did learn in kindergarten.

Obstinance has served me well this year. I’ve had to be stubborn and stay the course on the days when it was hard, when the reading seemed like I’d never get through it or understand it, when the coursework felt overwhelming, and when I just couldn’t hike up the hill again to Tillman Hall for class. I’ve stood firm with my students and my belief that they could and would learn to read.

I’ve given my all every day to be the best teacher I could be to forever remove that label of a struggling reader.

I’ve been obstinate this year that I can and will get through the Teacher Leader training year and the coursework. My fellow Teacher Leaders in training have helped with this on days when I’ve felt like throwing up my hands and walking away because it felt too hard, and the weight of the world was on my shoulders. Our job as Teacher Leaders and Reading Recovery teachers is big.

It’s important because it matters for the children we serve and the children we impact in our work with their teachers. It matters for the kids who hate to read, the kids learning English as a second language, and the kids sitting in classrooms confused and acting out because they are frustrated.

They are the reason we teach, reflect, and grow as Reading Recovery teachers and Teacher Leaders in training. They are the reason we worked our tails off this year to impact more and more students through our work with teachers in our districts. And what a year it has been. While the journey has been long and stressful, it has been one of the best years of my life. I’ve practiced leading the glass, shared knowledge, learned from the training class, and won Dr. Scharer’s “Jeopardy” quiz game. I’ve grown in my understanding of teaching reading, scribbled down the wisdom imparted by Dr. Bates, and shared meals, stories, and numerous texts with my fellow trainees. I’ve laughed and cried with my new friends, taught hard as Maryann McBride has asked of us, read until my eyes were blurry, and learned more than I ever thought I could about early literacy. I’ve done it all with a smile (and maybe a handful of complaints and tears) because it matters to the kid sitting in the chair next to me.

Courtney graduated and become a Teacher Leader on April 28, 2023. Thank you for following her journey! 

Introducing Follow My Journey: An Exclusive New Blog Series

Follow My Journey: Training Begins

Follow My Journey: Oral Exams

Follow My Journey: My Reading Recovery Community

If you are preparing to train to become a teacher leader or teacher next year, don’t miss your chance to apply for a financial award to help offset the cost of training! Applications are open for the Teacher Leader Training Award and Teacher of Color Training Award.