Final Blog Post

 What excites (excited) you the most about moving forward as a teacher?  

I think what excites me most about moving forward as a teacher is improving my craft, and being able to connect with more and more students. I think I really took for granted how much my teachers supported me and helped me grow as an individual. It wasn't until I found myself in their shoes that I realize " oh so that is why they did this" or " this is how they felt when I did that". I am a perfectionist by nature. I make Cosplays as a hobby and always find myself trying to get better and better. This can be a double edged sword because sometimes I can be too critical of myself and therefore have a hard time accepting constructive criticism. After my first year, I really started to work on this perfectionist nature of mine. It's ok to make mistakes; It's actually a pretty normal thing that everyone does. This is what I look forward to most as a teacher; continuing to stumble and fail, showing my students that it is ok, that's how we learn.

What worries you the most about being a teacher?

I think what worries me most is basically that we are not helping our students, but rather are holding them back. The " no child left behind" might seem good in theory, but the reality is we are graduating students who can't read or write. They can't problem solve or do anything without being told what to do. My students can sit there and do nothing for 6 months, but then I am REQUIRED to make them a proficiency plan for them to do the bare minimum to get a 59.5% and pass the class. How is this fair to those students who worked hard the whole year? How is this fair to me, the teacher? They don't do the work so I have to make more work and assignments for them so they don't feel overwhelmed? Since when did accountability move the student to the teacher? This is what worries me the most. 

How can you lead with empathy?

I lead with empathy by always being there for my students. They know they can come to me to talk about just about anything or if they need a break they know they can always take a break in my room. I listen to them, quietly providing support. If they want advice I give it, but I never try to tell them what to do. I like to give my students agency, especially since they are high schoolers. I want them to make decisions for themselves and discover what the consequences are, the good and the bad. I also try to be cognizant of peoples backgrounds and try to instill this in my students as well. We are allowed to be different and it is actually a reason to celebrate, but we should never make anyone feel bad or be disrespectful to them in any way. We are allow to disagree, but we should never shame anyone for their beliefs.

How can you be aware of your biases?

 This was one of the hardest challenges for me because I always have this concept of school in my brain that is based on my personal experience. However, after teaching for the few years are realize that there are so many different experiences out there. Some students are here alone, some have to work and go to school, some have siblings that they are raisings, and some have never had consistent schooling. With they varied backgrounds it is important to never make assumptions. For example, I can't assume my students know how to behave in school because they may have never been taught what " appropriate" behavior is. I can't just assume my students know that they need to be study and take notes because this might be their first exposure to education. These are all things I try to be mindful of: being aware of my biases so I can better support my students.