Art 310

My identity as a teacher is heavily influenced by the fact that I teach in the district in which I live and happens to also be the district I went to school in myself. Being from here, I have a unique perspective of how to tackle teaching and learning for our students. I am familiar with their struggles, as I’ve lived them myself, and I think my general awareness of the environments that our students are in allows me to lead with empathy first. 

When I was interviewed for my position, they asked me what I believed my ideal classroom would look like. I knew at that point that if I knew nothing else at all, I at least knew I needed my classroom to be safe. I knew that I needed to create the kind of inclusive and safe space I myself had wished for at that age. A place where we don’t just hang “you matter” posters, but a place where we actually believe it.

  I do that by always remembering first the age group I’m working with. We forget sometimes that we’re talking to 11 year olds; of course they’re being dramatic. They haven’t fully developed yet, so I allow them to have their emotions, because how can we learn to regulate an emotion if we aren’t allowed to express it? I assume everyone is walking through my door with a heavy situation I know nothing about. We do check ins regularly, we joke, we act silly, but we also have real and meaningful conversations. The truth is, a lot of times when I’m not in the building, I miss them. 

If I’m being honest, most of my influences have come from my direct observations of other educators. I’m lucky to have had 30+ year veterans to learn from. I never resisted a moment to seek guidance, especially during those first years. As an artist, I am realizing that I have come a long way in that, I give myself more grace when I struggle with a project or completing a project, because it’s the grace I would give my students. I allow myself to admit that I don’t have all the answers and that I too, am a learner.