Louisiana Teacher Highlight

teacher highlight: emma majure

We have many fabulous teachers in Louisiana. One such teacher is Mrs. Emma Majure, who teaches eighth grade at Pineville Junior High. She came to our attention when we were alerted of the fact that she was collecting books to create her own personal library within her classroom. That wouldn’t have been unusual necessarily, except for the fact that she had personally bought most of them herself before reaching out to the public.

When we interviewed her she said “I wanted what I did every day to matter and to result in a better tomorrow, so I decided to invest in kids.” Invest she certainly has. She engages her students in new and exciting ways, such as having the kids act out certain stories, write alternate endings, and do a lot of hands-on projects.

In looking through pictures of her classroom the first thing that strikes you is that it doesn’t look much like the typical classroom. She strives to create an environment that piques different personality types and creative levels. The principal at Pineville Junior High gives the teachers control over how their classrooms look. “I painted it fun colors, hired a friend to hand-paint a few designs, bought a few decorations from Etsy, and searched the marketplaces and thrift stores for furniture. My room is full of kitchen tables, standing desks, stools, etc. There are no regular desks in my room.”

In teaching, Emma says she learned a few important things: 1.It’s genuinely startling how many students in Louisiana don’t read on grade level. It really struck a chord with me, because I always loved English Language Arts classes, but I wasn’t a fan of reading since I’m dyslexic. 2.I found that a lot of my kids just don’t read because they haven’t found what they like to read yet. Some students couldn’t check out books because they owed library fees that they couldn’t pay. I wanted each of them to be able to check out a book, so I started my own classroom library. By the time they come to me as 8 th graders, a lot of them have already made up their minds that they would rather do a thousand things than to read a book. Once they’ve made that decision, it’s hard to change their minds.

When starting her library, she did research, found what titles young readers were into, and decided to stock her shelves with high-interest books on all levels so that even the struggling readers would be able to find something they’d enjoy.

Her classroom library currently has a little over 670 titles on its shelves.

“I even have students who aren’t in my classes who come to me to check out

books, and that’s how I know I’m doing something right.”

She is passionate about reading, and it shows. Some methods she has incorporated is to have something she calls “book tasting” a few times per week, where she reads the first chapter or book synopsis to them in the different voices in hopes of piquing their interests.

“Last year I put together a playlist on YouTube of full-length audiobooks. They range from five minutes to twelve hours in length! I was really surprised by how many of my kids ended up loving that, especially my inclusion students. After tests, or if we finished their work early they’d ask if they could listen to an audiobook. Sometimes it’s just nice to hear someone else read it to you.”

“I’m truly blessed, though to have been able to afford the books up to this point. I just want to help my students find joy in reading and not find it to be a chore. Plus, reading for fun is proven to boost test scores!”

Her school welcomes any book donations. The students especially enjoy fantasy, dystopian, adventure, mystery, and sports books. To find what books are on the school’s reading list, go to arbookfind.com.