Reflecting on TAP Year 1
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What are your teaching superpowers?
I think some of my strengths as a teacher are about how I develop interpersonal relationships with my kids. One of my superpowers is conveying care. I think my students know and feel that I genuinely like them as people. I excel at engaging with students in discussions about their homes, interests, relationships, and struggles. As a result I have relationships with each of my students that go deeper than academics. This is related to another of my teaching superpowers : not taking anything personally. This is certainly easier said than done! When a student does something that I perceive and rude or disruptive, I am able to check my ego. Before reacting, I remind myself that being a teenager is hard and all of these kids are experiencing things outside of class, such as relationship issues, housing insecurity, bullying, among others, that affect their mood and stress levels. In follow up conversations with students I have discovered that the student in question often didn't even realize that their actions were rude or could potentially hurt my feelings! Often students actions that seem like a personal attack have nothing at all to do with me. Plus, I'm an adult and I can handle it!
What are some areas for growth for you?
One area of growth that I am continuing to work on is to have students carry the cognitive load and let them experience productive struggle. I want to develop routines and practices that force me to do less and have students do more in class. Throughout the past school year I have constantly questioned what is the right amount of scaffolding. I want to ensure that all students are able to access the content and achieve deeper learning while also giving them opportunities to struggle, get stuck and ultimately climb out of the learning pit knowing that their perseverance paid off.
At this point in your career, what does it mean to be an antiracist educator?
Being an anti-racist teacher means encouraging my students to think critically about the world around them and ensuring that students understand who benefits from the systems in place. It also means engaging students in a study of the world that shows them they have agency and power. I aim to teach students that our history is not a product of destiny unfolding; they can be movers, shakers and decision makers in the process. Being an anti-racist teacher means making sure that we are give students as much of a voice as possible in their learning and taking into account what they want to know and what they want to learn about.
Being an anti-racist teacher also means bringing in the surrounding community as a resource. Students should feel that their school is part of their communities and vice versa. It is also paramount that we are disrupting the power hierarchy in the classroom. Students are not just doing things because I’m the authority figure. Instead I am a partner in learning and assisting my students get to where they want to be in life.
What is one question that you would be excited to dig into next year via your M.Ed. capstone project?
How might I engage reluctant learners and elevate them as leaders in my classroom?
I think some of my strengths as a teacher are about how I develop interpersonal relationships with my kids. One of my superpowers is conveying care. I think my students know and feel that I genuinely like them as people. I excel at engaging with students in discussions about their homes, interests, relationships, and struggles. As a result I have relationships with each of my students that go deeper than academics. This is related to another of my teaching superpowers : not taking anything personally. This is certainly easier said than done! When a student does something that I perceive and rude or disruptive, I am able to check my ego. Before reacting, I remind myself that being a teenager is hard and all of these kids are experiencing things outside of class, such as relationship issues, housing insecurity, bullying, among others, that affect their mood and stress levels. In follow up conversations with students I have discovered that the student in question often didn't even realize that their actions were rude or could potentially hurt my feelings! Often students actions that seem like a personal attack have nothing at all to do with me. Plus, I'm an adult and I can handle it!
What are some areas for growth for you?
One area of growth that I am continuing to work on is to have students carry the cognitive load and let them experience productive struggle. I want to develop routines and practices that force me to do less and have students do more in class. Throughout the past school year I have constantly questioned what is the right amount of scaffolding. I want to ensure that all students are able to access the content and achieve deeper learning while also giving them opportunities to struggle, get stuck and ultimately climb out of the learning pit knowing that their perseverance paid off.
At this point in your career, what does it mean to be an antiracist educator?
Being an anti-racist teacher means encouraging my students to think critically about the world around them and ensuring that students understand who benefits from the systems in place. It also means engaging students in a study of the world that shows them they have agency and power. I aim to teach students that our history is not a product of destiny unfolding; they can be movers, shakers and decision makers in the process. Being an anti-racist teacher means making sure that we are give students as much of a voice as possible in their learning and taking into account what they want to know and what they want to learn about.
Being an anti-racist teacher also means bringing in the surrounding community as a resource. Students should feel that their school is part of their communities and vice versa. It is also paramount that we are disrupting the power hierarchy in the classroom. Students are not just doing things because I’m the authority figure. Instead I am a partner in learning and assisting my students get to where they want to be in life.
What is one question that you would be excited to dig into next year via your M.Ed. capstone project?
How might I engage reluctant learners and elevate them as leaders in my classroom?