On October 12th I made my third annual author visit with Pace University undergraduate students, who attend Pace University’s School of Education. During the first session, I spoke with Dr. Elizabeth Smith, whose students are housed at the Pleasantville Campus, and Professor Sharon Medow, whose students attend classes at the Manhattan site. The session that followed was attended by Dr. Smith’s second section of students at the Pleasantville campus. The students are currently just beginning their journey as pre-service teachers and are in classrooms once per week as part of their practicum experience.
The session focused on all three of my books and I answered questions posed by the two professors and a number of students. The question and answer format was free-flowing and felt more like a conversation than a presentation.
Below are some quotes from some of the reflections the students wrote after my visit. The students wrote such insightful reflections, that it was a challenge to choose quotes that expressed the essence of their thoughts.
“When talking to us she told us her stories with students of all levels enjoying reading and ways we can implement some of her ideas in our classrooms in the future. As aspiring teachers, we are going to spend a lot of our time reading books to our students. It’s important to have books with meaningful messages and ones that students can relate to.” K.S., Pace University Student
“Carol Franks-Randall has inspired me and taught me how to not only help students connect and form relationships with each other, but also make connections and relate to my own students through my own values and who I am. I also now look at children’s books with a different perspective and see how important they really are in schools. One day I would love to maybe publish a children’s book based of all of my favorite childhood books from when I was younger.” A.P., Pace University Student
“Something Dr. Franks-Randall taught me today was that there needs to be chemistry in a classroom and students should have a connection in some way in the classroom. She said something she learned was to make sure you find things that your students like so you can relate in some way in the classroom environment. Most of what she said can be used both in our classroom environment as well writing children’s books. Connecting with your students, giving deeper meanings through text and overall the love for giving back whether that is in the classroom or through picture books.” G.T., Pace University Student
“As a teacher, Dr. Randall knows the power behind read alouds and all the amazing ways you can connect with children, so she used that knowledge to fuel her writing, as she wrote stories that she believed students would love.” B., Pace University Student
“Dr. Franks-Randall’s first book was Jamal and Me. This story was about a boy she experienced who was having a hard time fitting in as a new student who came from NYC and now was living in the suburbs. She was Dr. Toughlove in the story who was the principal that wouldn’t give up on him and wanted him to be successful. This story can be a great book to read to my class in the future on the first day of school, so they do not feel alone.” I.L., Pace University Student
“When I thought about children’s books, I only saw the surface level of meaning: they’re fun to read, the drawings create imagery, reading is multi-sensory. However, what I never thought about was the deeper meaning, much of what Randall touched upon in our conversation and what I wrote about in this entire summary. It taught me that teachers cannot look at only the surface level and expect there to be improvement among their students, rather, teachers need to dig deep and think about how we can foster improvement among our students.” R.B., Pace University Student
“You never know how powerful and touching a book can really be,” said Dr. Franks-Randall, during her visit. Dr. Franks-Randall concluded with the notion that we think about ourselves as a person and note what we bring to the table because it is our love and passions that can have the biggest impact on the students’ love and passions for things.” S.N., Pace University Student
I want to thank Dr. Smith and Professor Medow for sharing their students with me, and allowing me to share my journey as an educator and children’s book author. I enjoyed it immensely!