Practicum Experience

Posted November 14, 2025 by June Kramer

My practicum has come with it plenty of challenges, some that I did not expect and some that I knew were coming. I’m going to focus on the one I anticipated: my voice. Since childhood I have spoken with a stutter, and it’s especially hard to read aloud in a group full of people. Of course, going into the school library profession, I knew that this would be a frequent occurrence. In my first read-aloud, I knew that I needed to tackle it head-on. 

For a second grade class, I read the book “I Talk Like a River,” by Jordan Scott. It tells the story of an elementary-aged boy who stutters, and his father who refers to his stutter as “talking like a river.” In reading this book to the second graders, I was able to show them a bit of myself, and gain their trust as a full person. I also was able to teach them a little bit about disability justice, and why it’s important to be kind to those with different abilities than our own, and empathize with their experiences. 

My favorite part was during the book, when I turned to the class and asked them if the laughing and snickering that occurred in the story was kind. I got lots of thumbs down from everyone raptly listening to me read. After I read it, a student checked the book out for themself.