My name is Madelyn Ventura. I was born in the Dominican Republic and came to the United States when I was two-years old.  My entire schooling experience happened in the United States.  I am thirty two years old, pregnant, and have a five year old daughter named Aivah.  Ever since my family and I came from Dominican Republic we lived in Jersey City and still reside here.  

                

I am currently a Pre- K teacher for the Jersey City Public Schools.  I hold a certification in Early Childhood Pre-k through third grade.  My first experience in the teaching field was at the age of sixteen. I started as a group aide working three hours a day for an Abbott preschool.  I was then offered a position as a teacher’s assistant.  This is where I found my passion for teaching young children.  Currently, I am in the alternate route program pursuing my teaching license.   My future plans are to teach a few more years then end my career as a school guidance counselor.  Also, in the future, I am planning on retiring to the Dominican Republic to open my own preschool. The books that I enjoyed reading growing up were the little Red Hen and the Three Little Pigs.   Until this day I still enjoy reading this story to my children at work. 

            Growing up, I lived in a house that was only Spanish speaking, so in school I was pulled out of the classroom so I could learn how to speak English.  From kindergarten thru third grade, I was in bilingual classroom, but I still needed extra help.  In kindergarten, I started getting pulled out to help with my reading and writing skills in English. I remember that I used to love getting pulled out of class so that I can do fun reading activities with Mrs. O’Neal.  I feel that being pulled out of a large classroom setting and having a small group of students with Mrs. O’Neal helped me to read and write better.

During my high school years, I did struggle with reading and writing.  I had an English teacher named Mrs. C that offered to stay after school to help me with my writing and reading skill.  Still to this day, I struggle with some writing in both English and Spanish, but I keep trying to improve.  Since I do speak both English and Spanish, I noticed that I will translate to what I am reading to the other language.  For example, if I am reading a sentence in Spanish, I will translate it in English. 

Even during my college years, I still struggle with my writing, so I am constantly going back to check my work.  When reading at a college level I do have to read slowly so I am able to understand what I am reading.  I have joined reading groups to improve my reading and writing skills and I am reading more than ever. Now, I’m into reading romance books, and the news articles online.  I finally adjusted to reading and is more comfortable.