It's a Passion, Not a Job
I can't remember a day in my life when I have not thought about others before myself. My whole life revolves around giving and making other people feel special. I have always had a passion for kids. For me, teaching was not just a job, it was a calling. I knew this is what I was destined to do in my life. Now that I feel like I have some teaching years under my belt I constantly think about the future and how to better myself, not just for me, but for my colleagues and especially for my future students. When I think about the kind of teacher I want to be in the next five years three themes come to mind: Literacy, Writing, and Technology.
As an elementary school teacher I know the importance of reading. Early on in my undergrad I loved the "light bulb" feeling kids showed when they started pushing letters together to make words. This always gave me a tingly feeling inside. For this reason I would love to learn more about how to teach children to read. I want to know the science behind reading, the steps that build upon each other, and the strategies I can use to help struggling readers. Specifically I have worked with kids in second grade that still read at a kindergarten level. As a teacher I not only feel pressure, but it is my duty to make sure these kids leave my classroom as readers. Last year I experienced the first taste of teaching kids how to read. I was in charge of lesson planning phonics for my team. I tried my best, but knew that I needed to do more. I want to push myself and attend the Michigan Reading Association Conference every year to learn more about how I can be an active phonics teacher and use new research in my classroom. There are also so many Youtube videos about strategies and resources or TedTalks to learn more about how to inspire children to read.
This upcoming school year I have been given the challenge to lesson plan writing for my team. I have never taught writing before and to be honest I am nervous, because I never want to be a disservice to my scholars. For this reason I want to push myself to research about writing in the K-2 setting. Furthermore the writing curriculum I was given is brand new to our school. I hear that Lucy Calkins is a great first resource to support me. I want to study her theories and read her books about writing in the classroom. I plan to reach out to other teachers for advice on starting points, or awesome resources. I want writing to be fun and not a chore in second grade. After a quick google search I have found that Storybird, Storium, and Elemntari are some interactive online resources I could implement in my online class.
The biggest take away from my graduate degree is the use of technology in classrooms. I teach in a virtual school, but whether it be brick and mortar or online, I want to be a resource for other teachers about technology platforms for the classroom. I have learned how easy it is to incorporate technology for all subjects. I hope to be a leader in my school where staff can come to me and ask for resources and ideas surrounding technology. Some of my favorite resources are: padlet, jamboard, classkick, kahoot, codemonkey and so much more. I would love to attend the FET (Future of Education Technology) conference to learn more about how to stay active in the educational technology community. Not only are there a plethora of resources out there that anyone can find with a quick google search, but I feel like I could help teachers turn a simple in person lesson plan into an awesome interactive lesson plan with the use of technology. We are teaching the future of our world, and technology is a huge piece of preparing our students to be active adults. I want to be a staff member who can help others reach out of their comfort zones with technology in their classrooms.
As a teacher I am constantly telling my scholars that our brains never stop growing. In class I explain to them that we do the projects and assignments, because our brains need to grow. It is so important for teachers to make sure scholars are soaking up as much information as possible each and every day. I think we forget to do this for ourselves. When thinking about my learning goals I need to remember to set time aside to reach these goals. As an adult I never stop learning and my brain keeps growing too.
As an elementary school teacher I know the importance of reading. Early on in my undergrad I loved the "light bulb" feeling kids showed when they started pushing letters together to make words. This always gave me a tingly feeling inside. For this reason I would love to learn more about how to teach children to read. I want to know the science behind reading, the steps that build upon each other, and the strategies I can use to help struggling readers. Specifically I have worked with kids in second grade that still read at a kindergarten level. As a teacher I not only feel pressure, but it is my duty to make sure these kids leave my classroom as readers. Last year I experienced the first taste of teaching kids how to read. I was in charge of lesson planning phonics for my team. I tried my best, but knew that I needed to do more. I want to push myself and attend the Michigan Reading Association Conference every year to learn more about how I can be an active phonics teacher and use new research in my classroom. There are also so many Youtube videos about strategies and resources or TedTalks to learn more about how to inspire children to read.
This upcoming school year I have been given the challenge to lesson plan writing for my team. I have never taught writing before and to be honest I am nervous, because I never want to be a disservice to my scholars. For this reason I want to push myself to research about writing in the K-2 setting. Furthermore the writing curriculum I was given is brand new to our school. I hear that Lucy Calkins is a great first resource to support me. I want to study her theories and read her books about writing in the classroom. I plan to reach out to other teachers for advice on starting points, or awesome resources. I want writing to be fun and not a chore in second grade. After a quick google search I have found that Storybird, Storium, and Elemntari are some interactive online resources I could implement in my online class.
The biggest take away from my graduate degree is the use of technology in classrooms. I teach in a virtual school, but whether it be brick and mortar or online, I want to be a resource for other teachers about technology platforms for the classroom. I have learned how easy it is to incorporate technology for all subjects. I hope to be a leader in my school where staff can come to me and ask for resources and ideas surrounding technology. Some of my favorite resources are: padlet, jamboard, classkick, kahoot, codemonkey and so much more. I would love to attend the FET (Future of Education Technology) conference to learn more about how to stay active in the educational technology community. Not only are there a plethora of resources out there that anyone can find with a quick google search, but I feel like I could help teachers turn a simple in person lesson plan into an awesome interactive lesson plan with the use of technology. We are teaching the future of our world, and technology is a huge piece of preparing our students to be active adults. I want to be a staff member who can help others reach out of their comfort zones with technology in their classrooms.
As a teacher I am constantly telling my scholars that our brains never stop growing. In class I explain to them that we do the projects and assignments, because our brains need to grow. It is so important for teachers to make sure scholars are soaking up as much information as possible each and every day. I think we forget to do this for ourselves. When thinking about my learning goals I need to remember to set time aside to reach these goals. As an adult I never stop learning and my brain keeps growing too.