As a first year teacher, there is a lot I wish to accomplish. There's also a lot happening and I don't want to forget any of it. The purpose of this page is to archive some of the things I'm working on right now and reflect on the meaning and purpose of each endeavor. The following projects include everything from professional growth, electives, advisory, and student engagement. Overall, the reason I've included these projects here is because they share a similar theme: building community. Building community is important to me and I feel that it has had a huge impact on my teaching philosophy and teacher identity this year. Below is a collection of projects I'm working on in order to build meaningful relationships with students and colleagues, while also attempting to improve my skills as a teacher.
Professional Goal Setting
Each year teachers are asked to set professional goals in order to grow as educators and life-long learners. While I have set goals in the past, this was a slightly new experience for me. I had to think about my goals not just in personal terms, but in terms of how I can better support my students. I had to think about where to focus my energy in this first year as I continue to learn and hone in my teaching skills. Each day presents unique learning experiences, so it was difficult to narrow my focus for the purpose of goal setting, but in the end, this is what I landed on. Here are my professional goals for the 2018-2019 school year (a.k.a. "Year One!")
As part of my course work for my MAE program, I was also asked to write professional goals, which look a little different that the ones listed above. The S.M.A.R.T. Goals I wrote for the purpose of this assignment include: Instructional: I will gain confidence and competence as an ELA teacher by taking and passing the ELA praxis exam by the end of 2018 in order to better meet the needs of my ELA students. Personal Practice: I will gain confidence as a co-teacher by reading articles, blogs, and academic literature on the topic of co-teaching practices in order to further develop my voice and teacher identity and complete my action research project by April 2019. Student Based: I will reach out to at least five students who “fly below the radar” by being “average students” in order to get to know them better and ensure their social-emotional as well as academic needs are being met this year in 7th grade.
After writing my work plan and professional goals, I couldn't stop thinking about all the other things I need and want to do in order to become a better teacher. I've been discussing goals a lot, both for work and for my course work, so I decided to create a visual representation for the action steps I see as essential to becoming the teacher I wish to be. We'll call it my road map for success.
Each of these strategies for thinking about, writing, and reflecting on professional goals has helped me shape my professional outlook. Having a work plan is important, but what I've realized from this experience is that so too are S.M.A.R.T. Goals and visuals like this. Thinking about professional goals from each of these perspectives has been incredibly helpful to me.
Mountain Middle School Garden Club!
Thanks to the hard work of a small group of students, we have launched the first ever Mountain Middle School Garden Club! The "MMSHarvest Moon Garden" broke ground on October 17, 2018 and will begin planting in the spring. We are so thankful to J&J Landscaping for their donation of time and materials and want to say thank you to our board members for helping us to secure the space for the garden. More updates to come, so stay tuned!
The garden program has become a special project for me. What started out as a student interest program has grown to become the focus for my own Action Research Project for my Master's Degree program. I've been so inspired by student engagement and eagerness to launch a school garden program at our school that I decided to focus on the implications of having a school garden on student growth and development. So far students have shown a willingness to take initiative to gain approval for the site, a desire to help our school community, and a passion for growing local food. They inspire me and I'm looking forward to helping this program grow!
Garden Design Plans by Students
Below are some of the designs students created using an app called home outside. This app proved to be really user-friendly and the kids enjoyed using my i-pad to create their designs. This is just a few of their creations.
Advisory
Advisory is our version of "pack" or "homeroom." It is made up of 6th, 7th, and 8th graders and has a total of 12 students. We meet three days a week, first thing in the morning. Here's a picture of us the day of the Wolfpack Challenge. We were all dressed in onsies and ready for the big competition!
My advisory holds a special place in my heart. This is a group of students I get to know on a much more personal level. During advisory there are days we have planned curriculum and on others we can use the time for our own purposes. We have decided as a group to make gratitude a daily practice, no matter what. On Mondays and Tuesdays we share out something we're grateful for, while on Thursdays we write personal thank you notes to people we are grateful for at school. We then hand deliver the notes during advisory time and share the greeting: "Happy Thankful Thursday" with anyone we encounter along the way. This has become an important practice for us and has revealed so much about who my students are, what they value, and who they care about. At first I experienced a bit of resistance to this practice, but it has gradually become our norm and the students hold one another accountable for being honest and reflective when they share. It is a truly positive way to start the day, and I'm so glad my students have bought in. Here's a few of the notes I've gotten in the past.
Electives
Pinterest Party! is my favorite part of the week! This is the elective I run twice a week with students from 6th, 7th, and 8th grade. During this time we create various projects while listening to music, talking, and enjoying a new Pinterest Recipe. Students get to work on projects of their choice once a week, and I provide the materials for a group project on the other day. This program has great engagement and enrollment and is a total blast!
I wanted to highlight this elective in my current projects because I have learned so much from this experience. The students have a lot to teach me about their passions and creative sides, and it's been a pleasure getting to know each of them a little bit better in this type of setting. The environment we have created feels very equitable and students readily offer praise for the creative work of their peers. I love the energy in the room when my students are totally engaged with what they're creating. I will definitely be offer this elective in the future and am grateful that it's going so well!
Student-Led Outreach Efforts
One day on my way to work I was struck by the NPR broadcast of the recent fires in Northern California. I was moved to tears as I listened to the reports of dozens dying and hundreds more still unaccounted for as a fire wrecked havoc on an entire town. Once I got to school, I knew I needed to talk about it with my students. So that morning we combined three advisories to talk about what was happening to this small community much like our own. We listened to a news report, watch some actual footage from the fire, and then listened to a Ted Talk about what average citizens can do in moments of disaster and destruction. From there we turned to the students and asked them what they felt they could do to help the people of Paradise, California. Their ideas came flooding in and it quickly became apparent that this was an issue that resinated with them. We agreed to meet the next day at lunch and this is what has come of that initial conversation:
During our initial lunch meeting, students quickly took over to create a mini command station, organizing a list of items to collect, businesses to call, a common script to use, and emails collected. I stood back and watched in awe as these students (mostly 7th and 8th graders) busied themselves with delegating tasks, splitting the lists of who to call, and creating flyers to share with the community. I was astounded by their commitment and passion. They inspire me in so many ways, and this just goes to show what they are capable of as little humans. Their willingness to help others has become infectious and as a result, our school is hosting a fundraiser for middle school students in Paradise, California. Our students have decided to focus their efforts on helping kids their age, so they are collecting personal items that they will fill backpacks with and ship out to the middle school in Paradise. Below is a flyer students created for their cause.