My Educational Background |
I am a product of several traditional mid-western schools. I thrived in a structured environment of "sit and get" and found structure necessary to learn some very difficult analytical concepts, especially advanced math.
After years of predictable classroom experiences, I entered high school as a freshman and was signed up (not voluntarily) for a "contest speech" class. At the time, students were required to take one of a small number of courses to fulfill a speech/communication requirement. This was the one that fit easiest into my schedule of honors academics and advanced P.E., which was recommended to support the three different sports I played. Yeah...I was that girl. The only exception to the overachieving stereotype was that my personality was fairly reserved and mostly quiet, as not to make a wrong move in front of my peers. In her book, Facilitating Authentic Learning, Laura L. R. Thomas wrote that, "Schools of fish are governed by two simple rules: Stay in the middle of the group and don't get eaten." That was me! My fear of being eaten was so great that I spent my early life following other fish rather than stepping outside of my own "comfort zone." |
I walked into that contest speech class on the first day of my freshman year with my brand new, color-coordinated notebook and folder and an array of writing utensils (My ridiculous obsession for pens should have been the first clue that I would be a teacher). I had everything out on my desk, ready to take notes over our first lecture. After taking attendance, the instructor began class by having us put our sacred paper and pens away. She demanded that we get up out of our desks and come stand in a circle at the front of the room, away from the furniture. We hesitated. As we were all forcibly stripped naked of our familiar learning tools and the usual physical barriers separating us from interactive learning, she brought out a Hula Hoop and told us to hold hands. At that moment, I started to consider my options: "Is this allowed? Can I still change my schedule? I wonder if that keyboarding class is still open." I had no idea that this experience would be the beginning of "the end" for me. This teacher would turn my vision of school upside down and push me to do things I never dreamed I would want to do. She would throw such a wrench into my educational success story that I, myself, would end up forsaking the stereotypical suburban dream of law or medicine and spend my adult days on the other side of a classroom.
After being pushed to "stretch my comfort zone" for a good several weeks of class, I gave in. I started trying out each and every activity I could, even if I was terrible at them. That teacher gave me a chance to figure out what I was good at and what I wasn't. She never mandated what I should do nor did she ever give me strict guidelines to follow, all wrapped up in a neat little assignment. She "facilitated" my learning by allowing me to take necessary risks and discover part of myself in each experience. In her book, Thomas also discusses the role of a facilitator in the classroom by asking, "…can anyone deny that good teachers engaged in powerful work with their students are doing just that [facilitation] — enabling young people to complete meaningful tasks in service of a real problem and encouraging them as they do so?" This teacher did exactly that and knew what it took to get me to take responsibility for my own learning.
In high school, I found that I had a passion for speaking and argumentation, which led me to compete in debate, student congress and oratory. I even made that poor teacher watch me attempt performance events, such as dramatic interpretation, duet, poetry and prose. Through it all, she encouraged me to take risks, gave me real and useful feedback and helped me grow into a more caring and independent woman. My experiences with her cultivated a passion for analysis, critical thinking, performance and leadership that I never knew I had. After a semester in contest speech, I made sure that I always had a class period with this teacher, even if I had to have the counselors create an independent study course for me to do so. I wanted her help and guidance as I continued my journey in speech & debate, and life. After a couple of years in her class, I wanted her help, but didn't rely on it so much as I did her opinion and feedback. She had enabled an independence in me that would serve me the rest of my life.
As I went on to a very challenging Jesuit college, I found myself back in a more traditional classroom environment of lecture, note-taking and limited discussion. However, my "out of the norm" experiences in contest speech helped to give me the confidence and independence to take leaderships roles and supplement those classroom experiences with real-life application of content. I was in charge of my education, not the instructor! As I finished my first, and second year of undergraduate work, I began to think about my personal career goal of orthopedic surgery. After some formidable experiences with math and science, I realized that although I had an interest in some of those things, my true passion was not there. I thought back to the things I had loved the most about my own education and considered why.
Not long after I began soul searching, during my junior year of college, I met a very enthusiastic professor who had proposed and gained approval for a new masters degree program at my university. She thought I would fit in really well with the goals of the program and encouraged me to consider a masters degree in education. Did I really want to teach? What would my life look like as an educator? This professor was relentless and talked me into taking just one education class as an elective…then another…then another. Before I knew it, I had signed the dotted line and given myself to teaching. What's funny is that this professor had many of the same qualities as my high school speech and debate coach. She pushed boundaries of classroom experiences and constantly challenged traditional ideas of learning. I wanted more of that!
I never planned to be a teacher, especially a speech and debate coach. I never saw what life would be in this crazy, ever-changing world of education. What I thought I wanted in my early years were things that society had imposed on me as someone else's standard for success. It took meeting someone who helped me find myself and understand my own true passions and talents in order for me to find the right path and truly grow. Good teaching changes lives in this way. It gives students opportunities to make choices in learning and to find the things that motivate. I owe a lot to Laura Thomas, my high school speech and debate coach. Her example set a standard for teaching that I am constantly reflecting on and trying to reproduce. She practiced what she preaches in her book and exemplifies the power of facilitating meaningful and engaged classroom learning. I would not be a teacher today without her willingness to defy the expected norms and empower students to create their own. Without that teacher, I would not be teaching.
After being pushed to "stretch my comfort zone" for a good several weeks of class, I gave in. I started trying out each and every activity I could, even if I was terrible at them. That teacher gave me a chance to figure out what I was good at and what I wasn't. She never mandated what I should do nor did she ever give me strict guidelines to follow, all wrapped up in a neat little assignment. She "facilitated" my learning by allowing me to take necessary risks and discover part of myself in each experience. In her book, Thomas also discusses the role of a facilitator in the classroom by asking, "…can anyone deny that good teachers engaged in powerful work with their students are doing just that [facilitation] — enabling young people to complete meaningful tasks in service of a real problem and encouraging them as they do so?" This teacher did exactly that and knew what it took to get me to take responsibility for my own learning.
In high school, I found that I had a passion for speaking and argumentation, which led me to compete in debate, student congress and oratory. I even made that poor teacher watch me attempt performance events, such as dramatic interpretation, duet, poetry and prose. Through it all, she encouraged me to take risks, gave me real and useful feedback and helped me grow into a more caring and independent woman. My experiences with her cultivated a passion for analysis, critical thinking, performance and leadership that I never knew I had. After a semester in contest speech, I made sure that I always had a class period with this teacher, even if I had to have the counselors create an independent study course for me to do so. I wanted her help and guidance as I continued my journey in speech & debate, and life. After a couple of years in her class, I wanted her help, but didn't rely on it so much as I did her opinion and feedback. She had enabled an independence in me that would serve me the rest of my life.
As I went on to a very challenging Jesuit college, I found myself back in a more traditional classroom environment of lecture, note-taking and limited discussion. However, my "out of the norm" experiences in contest speech helped to give me the confidence and independence to take leaderships roles and supplement those classroom experiences with real-life application of content. I was in charge of my education, not the instructor! As I finished my first, and second year of undergraduate work, I began to think about my personal career goal of orthopedic surgery. After some formidable experiences with math and science, I realized that although I had an interest in some of those things, my true passion was not there. I thought back to the things I had loved the most about my own education and considered why.
Not long after I began soul searching, during my junior year of college, I met a very enthusiastic professor who had proposed and gained approval for a new masters degree program at my university. She thought I would fit in really well with the goals of the program and encouraged me to consider a masters degree in education. Did I really want to teach? What would my life look like as an educator? This professor was relentless and talked me into taking just one education class as an elective…then another…then another. Before I knew it, I had signed the dotted line and given myself to teaching. What's funny is that this professor had many of the same qualities as my high school speech and debate coach. She pushed boundaries of classroom experiences and constantly challenged traditional ideas of learning. I wanted more of that!
I never planned to be a teacher, especially a speech and debate coach. I never saw what life would be in this crazy, ever-changing world of education. What I thought I wanted in my early years were things that society had imposed on me as someone else's standard for success. It took meeting someone who helped me find myself and understand my own true passions and talents in order for me to find the right path and truly grow. Good teaching changes lives in this way. It gives students opportunities to make choices in learning and to find the things that motivate. I owe a lot to Laura Thomas, my high school speech and debate coach. Her example set a standard for teaching that I am constantly reflecting on and trying to reproduce. She practiced what she preaches in her book and exemplifies the power of facilitating meaningful and engaged classroom learning. I would not be a teacher today without her willingness to defy the expected norms and empower students to create their own. Without that teacher, I would not be teaching.
My Teaching Philosophy |
I believe that teaching should be student-centered and requires a willingness, on the part of the teacher, to continually learn. Being a teacher is not about imparting empirical wisdom on a group of subjects. A teacher should have an in-depth knowledge of content and share what they know with the learners in order to empower a student's experience and engagement with the content. Sometimes, empowering learners means that a teacher shows humility and learns from students as they explore information and hone necessary and practical skills. This mutual approach to learning helps to create an environment of respect, collaboration and improved performance for both parties.
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In his book, The Courage to Teach, Parker J. Palmer says that "teachers possess the power to create conditions that can helps students learn a great deal — or keep them from learning much at all. Teaching is the intentional act of creating those conditions, and good teaching requires that we understand the inner sources of both the intent and the act." A teacher who creates an environment of intrinsically motivated, empowered learners does so within a safe and welcoming place that fosters diversity, communication, risk-taking and even failing. Allowing students a nurturing place to fail helps them to grow and authentically learn from those attempts, thus fostering future progress and success. Developing the life-long values of confidence and perseverance through engagement in challenging, meaningful work helps them to acquire new skills and independence.
A classroom environment should have clear boundaries and expectations, which hold both teacher and students accountable for high standards of ethical and professional behavior, encouraging a positive rapport, purposeful sharing and self-discovery. The respect received by the teacher exists because of the respect the teacher initially shows to the students. That respect is achieved by connecting with each and every student on a personal level that fosters compassion and empathy for each individual, while holding them accountable for independent and responsible behavior.
Authentic learning is achieved through engagement in interactive, differentiated, practical activities that develop modern skills applicable to the diverse needs of each student. Valuable resources that foster development of modern skills should be regularly explored and integrated into classroom functions. There is no "one-size fits all" approach to learning. Classroom activities should be planned around the students presently sitting in a classroom and tailored toward their individual abilities and goals. If the teacher cannot meet all of these needs, they should be willing to collaborate and seek out support from peers and other educators who can help them elevate strategies for the benefit of all students. In turn, the teacher should be a team player and available resource for other teachers as they do the same.
When these things are accomplished, students learn from the example set by a classroom instructor and tap into their own passions and motivation to learn, resulting in independent, life-long learners.
A classroom environment should have clear boundaries and expectations, which hold both teacher and students accountable for high standards of ethical and professional behavior, encouraging a positive rapport, purposeful sharing and self-discovery. The respect received by the teacher exists because of the respect the teacher initially shows to the students. That respect is achieved by connecting with each and every student on a personal level that fosters compassion and empathy for each individual, while holding them accountable for independent and responsible behavior.
Authentic learning is achieved through engagement in interactive, differentiated, practical activities that develop modern skills applicable to the diverse needs of each student. Valuable resources that foster development of modern skills should be regularly explored and integrated into classroom functions. There is no "one-size fits all" approach to learning. Classroom activities should be planned around the students presently sitting in a classroom and tailored toward their individual abilities and goals. If the teacher cannot meet all of these needs, they should be willing to collaborate and seek out support from peers and other educators who can help them elevate strategies for the benefit of all students. In turn, the teacher should be a team player and available resource for other teachers as they do the same.
When these things are accomplished, students learn from the example set by a classroom instructor and tap into their own passions and motivation to learn, resulting in independent, life-long learners.
My Professional Roles
Over the course of my teaching career, I have taken advantage of multiple learning opportunities, completed various certifications and taught a wide variety of courses. Below is a listing of some of my more significant roles.
Instructional TechnologistV.R. Eaton High School - Haslet, TX
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Speech/Debate Coach & English TeacherDebate 1
Debate 2/3 Oral Interpretation Communication Applications Public Speaking Pre-IB English 9 Pre-Ap English 9 10th grade English Pre-AP English 10 11th grade English AP Language and Composition 12th grade English AP Literature & Composition Creative Writing |
Principal EC-12 - TX
English Lang. Arts 9-12 - TX Speech Comm. 8-12 - TX ESL Supplemental 8-12 - TX Secondary English 9-12 - MO Middle School Lang. Arts 5-9 - MO Speech/Debate/Theater - MO |