“When I grow up, I too will go to faraway places, and when I grow up, I too will live beside the sea.”

“That is all very well, little Alice,” said her grandfather, “but there is a third thing you must do.”

“What is that?” asked Alice.

“You must do something to make the world more beautiful,” said her grandfather.

 From Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney

Hi and welcome to my e-Portfolio! My name is Jennifer Smith, and I am just starting my journey in the Masters of Library and Information Studies at Old Dominion University.  I imagine that this site will go through many iterations and revisions throughout the program so please check back later.  There is much more to come.

I am currently working as a second grade teacher and am in my twentieth year in the general education classroom. Throughout the years, I have also taught kindergarten and first grade and have had the privilege to help hundreds of children learn to read.  Watching a beginning reader learn to love reading is one of the highlights of my career.  My hope now is to combine the two best parts of my job, the children and the books, and become a school librarian.

Like the character Alice in the quote above, I have traveled to far away lands.  I have lived in Japan, South Korea, North Carolina, California, Texas, and now Virginia.  Like Alice, I returned home to live by the sea and currently live in my hometown, Virginia Beach.  Now it is time to work on the final thing that must be done in the life well lived, and that’s to do something that will make the world more beautiful.  What could be more beautiful than introducing children to books and the wonderful possibilities that they afford? 

 

Header Image

Punch_ra. (n.d.). Lupine, date city, purple [Photo]. Pixabay. Retrieved from https://pixabay.com/photos/lupine-date-city-purple-799002/ CC0.

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