CLEVELAND — In a way, David Roth is a kid at heart.
"There were summers I thought I was in Star Wars, and there were summers that I thought I was a spy because I chose what I could do,” he recalled in a recent interview with 3News anchor Christi Paul. “So in the classroom at this point, I do ask [my students] ‘hey, what book do you want?"
Roth has been teaching in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District for 25 years. His third graders respect him, but he says, he wants to genuinely connect with them. And he knows that disguising learning as fun is his superpower. He says he makes sure to remember these sweet little people with big imaginations and smart minds also hold the ability to make their own choices.
"As a kid, I hated reading. I had to do exactly what the teacher told me to do," Roth recalled. "However, and I've told them, the only time when I started loving reading when I was in adult, I got to choose what I wanted to do."
The students in his class at Luis Muñoz Marín Dual Language Academy say, they’ve learned to love reading thanks to his encouragement. That’s because in addition to giving them freedom to pursue their interests, Mr. Roth takes reading to a whole new chapter. He takes his students, each week, to read to younger classrooms.
“They think they're getting out of class, but they're doing exactly what I want them to do is to read," Roth explained.
What makes this even more challenging and satisfying is that these kids aren't just learning in one language. They're being taught in both English and Spanish consistently.
"We need to get them to learn English and that is important in the United States. However, those Spanish children need to continue with their Spanish language because if you take it away from them, you rip out their heart," he said. “You rip out who they are because that's where they start from.”
Roth knows not every child is growing up in a home where they're getting the emotional support they need, but he also knows teachers have the unique ability to show children they matter, they're capable and they're loved.
“I don't have a family. I'm a single guy,” he explained. “They're my children.”
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