Colleen Ruddy

Books

There are a few reasons I chose this picture. First of all, my dear friend Kyra (who was once a student teacher in my classroom) is pregnant with her first baby and due any day now. The other reason is that it reflects to me the changing face of text. Who doesn’t remember those special books that were read to you as a child, the ones you can’t wait to share with your own kids? When I think about giving gifts to new parents, beyond the essentials, I think of books. While I realize that iPads and tablets are changing things and that kids will be learning to read on them at young ages, it does not usurp the magic of holding a copy of “Guess How Much I love you” in my hands and reading it to my niece or nephew. Text will come and go in all shapes and forms throughout our lives, but there is an incredible sentimentality to opening up a copy of A.A. Milne’s “Winnie the Pooh” that has an inscription inside of it, written from your grandmother to your mother when she was a just a baby, and reading it to your daughter. Text enters our lives from the very beginning and shapes our view of it for the rest of our lives. I still love books!

My name is Colleen and this is my seventh MET course. (I can hardly believe it!) I am originally from Montreal. Currently I teach grade 6/7 at a small Catholic Independent school in Prince George, B.C. where I have been for the last 6 years now. I taught Montessori Early years in both Korea and Turkey before returning to Canada. I recently (June) got engaged and have had some fun this summer making preparations for the wedding. I am really looking forward to another engaging course. I have found that most of my learning comes from interactions with other students in the course, so thank you in advance for that!

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3 Responses to Colleen Ruddy

  1. dsouzacl says:

    Great to see another familiar face in this course, Colleen. Congratulations on getting engaged and good luck with the wedding plans! I’m sure you’ll be very busy over the next few months.

  2. grants says:

    Hi Colleen,

    I like the image you chose as it reminds me of books from my childhood that instilled a lifelong love of reading. Although I like reading on my iPad as well, there is something about reading a print book that can’t be replicated electronically. Like you, I often give books as gifts, especially to children because a love of reading pays off in so many ways. Although I welcome new text technology, I hope print books never die out entirely.

    Grant

  3. Kim Wagner says:

    One fun new children’s book that retells the classic Goodnight Moon is Goodnight iPad. It has the style and visual exploration of the original picture book, but framed by the influence of technology in the home.

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