Curriculum and Instruction
I believe that the root of great instruction is the development of 21st century skills. Being an English teacher, we can use any type of curriculum to get students to address the standards, but it is making those standards relevant to them tahat makes all the difference. In my experience as a teacher, I have had administrators that have pushed online curriculum, those that did not care what we taught, and those that pushed objectives and skills. The students respond best when they know why they are working, and can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Instruction and Curriculum need to be centered around the skills that students think they will need in the future. We need to build empathy, and show them why these skills are important. We also need to teach these skills intentionally through projects and lessons that interest students and show them that the skills they are building will matter when they find their place in the 21st century world outside of education. Parent and Community Involvement I believe that parent involvement can be the biggest deciding factor in a students success. Statistics show that access to books at home as a child, parental support, and a sense that someone caring for a student can drastically improve their chances of being a high acheving student. I have worked at a public school, and I have worked in a public charter school. One of the biggest differences in these two schools is that students have to apply to attend the charter school. There is this one small checkpoint in place to assure that somebody has a stake in this students future, and it shows. The amount of students with failing grades goes down drastically. The amount of parents at open house goes up, and the school climate and culture becomes much more conducive to acheivement. Discipline and School Climate/Culture I belive that school discipline should be restorative and consistent. Teenagers make mistakes, and they should have chances to learn from their behavior. I had friends in high school who made mistakes and were expelled or suspended. They looked at themselves differently afterwards. They were seen as unfit, and rejected. I have seen it as a teacher as well. A student gets suspended, and they come back feeling the same way, just a little more rested. There need to be restorative practices in place to support each and every student. Sometimes there are situations where students will be better of at a different school, but that needs to be explored, talked about, and decided by a group with stakeholders from all sides, and not because their behavior checked a box on a set of rules. Technology I believe that technology is not an option is the education of our students. The world is not becoming digitalized, it already is. Every student that graduates from high school needs to be fluent with technology, and be ready to use it to to enhance whatever assignment or product that they are developing. I also belive that teachers need to be more strategic in how they are using technolgy. The SAMR model is a great resource for teachers to remind them that technology should simply replace the capabilities of what has been going on in classrooms for the past 50 years, but should be pushing to extend those capabilities. I have seen too many teachers that only use technolgy to subsitite what they were already doing. Clicking a submit button on Google Classroom and handing a paper to your teacher are the same thing. We as teachers need to be better than that, and use technology to teach students how to collaborate, communicate, and connect with people in ways that were not possible before. 1. Work Intentionally
Each unit I promise to let my students know the 2-3 skills that we will be working hard to develop. Sometimes that means we are presenting a research project that requires research skills and integrating quotes, and other times it is a creative writing unit and we will be working on writing dialogue and creating a believable story arc. Any way you shape it, we stress what skills we are building, spend time on them, and then assess how much the students have grown. They know they can hold me accountable, just as they know they will be held accountable as well. 2. Utilize Your Agency This one is all about relevance. I strive to make each lesson and unit matter to the students. Some will be affected by some things more than others, but I try to give them a little of everything. For example, our unit on oppression will build toward the students researching a group that is currently being oppressed and discussing how we, as a society, could be helping this group to find equality. We spend time considering perspectives outside of the majority (tough in history sometimes, winners write the books) and when students feel like something we are studying does not matter, I want them to question that. 3. Be Gritty I do not accept quitting very well. I stress on the first day, on the syllabus, and on posters all over my room that we will be using new brain muscles all the time, and everyone is going to find a muscle that they haven't built up much yet. When it gets hard, you know you are making progress. We talk about striving toward a growth mindset, and that such a huge part of success is showing up time and time again. 4. Laugh Often It would be hard for me to summon the energy for work every day if I wasn't having fun. I laugh with my students, and they laugh with and at me. If I could only keep one of these on my list, it would be this one. I have never been a very vocal leader. On sports teams, I always considered myself one of the smarter players on the team, and at times even one of the better players, but I was never really seen as a leader. We had some great leaders, and I always felt that my role was to support them. As a teacher, I have definitely been a team player in my department and in staff meetings. I offer some suggestions, but more often accept what the majority desire.
This year, I took the challenge of becoming the Humanities department chair. It is a small school, so the department is only 6 teachers, but I still take the responsibility seriously. It is an honor to be respected, and trusted. After a few short months, I see that I definitely fall into the Servant Leadership category. My goal from the onset of they year has been to be a voice for our departments needs. Instead of trying to direct, I try to find ways to encourage each teacher to use their strengths. I am still very much shocked when teachers ask me for permission to do things, or ask questions about department choices, because I really do just want to make sure that I am meeting and understanding their needs. In the classroom, I am much the same way, but it feels a lot different. I work hard to make relationships with students. I am lucky to work at a school that values small class sizes, so I only have a total of 78 students in my core classes. We doing 1 on 1 writing conferences, 1 on 1 reading conferences, small group workshops, and do a lot of other things that allow me insight into finding out what the students need from me. I truly feel like a better teacher when I am able to find the problem. Fixing the problems is always tricky in its own right, but just putting your finger on it with a teenager means you are on the right path, I think? SDCOE Juvenile Court and Community Schools - Substitute Teacher
My first experience in the classroom was straight out of college. I was beginning to take some afternoon and night classes to pursue my M.A. in American Literature, and took this job as something that could fill the day, and be flexible at the same time. It was amazing. Schools were tucked into storefronts, foreclosed houses, and anywhere that the county could find. Students were in need, and the teachers who had them full time were amazing. Some days were scary, but I definitely learned a lot about class management, and about building relationships. Behavior Intervention In a little twist to my teaching career, I moved to Hawaii to live with my brother for about 9 months, and took a job as a behavior intervention specialist, working with autistic children while they were at school. With these severe cases, I was really able to learn how to utilize support, resources, and make the learning fun and exciting. I was basically one students guide for the entire school day. Being around me for that long gets tiring, no matter what we are doing, so I learned to differentiate assignments, and break the day up a lot. I continued this job as I moved back to California and enrolled in my teaching credential program at CSU Fullerton. Student Teaching - Troy High School I was very fortunate to be able to have two wonderful mentors as a student teacher. I literally just took a break from this post to write them an email to say hello and thank you, because I have not seen them in quite a while. One teacher was an amazing writing coach, and the other could lead a classroom discussion like a master. I learned so much this year, and was pushed to find out who I was as a teacher as well. Elsinore High School My first paid teaching position was back at my old alma mater. I was hired as an English teacher, but only taught 1 English class in the two years I was there. Instead, I jumped on the opportunity to be a part of the ELD staff, helping language learners catch up to their peers, and coaching water polo and basketball. It was great to be able to work with some of the teachers I had while I was in high school, and developing that new relationship taught me a lot. Coaching was also an amazing part of being a teacher here. The long hours and hard work really create a strong bond with the students, and it was very rewarding for me. e3 Civic High And this path leads to here, my current job in downtown San Diego. e3 Civic High is a small public charter school in the central SD library. I teach a Humanities class to 11th grade students, and an Advisory class of 10th graders. The classroom environment at this school is one that pushes teachers to improve. We have a lot of extra time devoted to professional development, and self improvement. With our students, the classrooms are interactive and project based. This environment has really pushed me to keep students engaged, and to make content relevant to their lives. I really and truly believe I have become a better teacher here. Believing in students and the impact teachers can have has been engrained in me from a young age. I am a third generation educator. Starting with my grandpa, both of my parents, and even my sister, the Horton family has spent plenty of time in the classroom.
That said, I never thought I would end up teaching. When I was really young, I was going to be an NBA start. When I was a little less young, I thought that maybe I would write about the actual NBA stars. I followed that path into college, and wrote for The Daily Aztec here at SDSU. I covered all kinds of sports and personalities around campus, and as excited as I was to start the work, it was never something that gave me much in return. Looking back, I should have known the teacher in me was there all along. My first memory of being in class and not being a teacher was in helping out in my mom's special education class. I was in middle school, and I was about the same age as her students, though I went to a different school that was closer to home. Her class was going on a field trip to the roller rink, and I spent the day helping to teach her students how to skate, and testing my skills in air hockey. It was a new feeling being able to help, and seeing smiles when my new friends were able to make a lap around the rink on their own. I can still remember the connection that those students had with my mom, and how much she believed in them, no matter what they were trying to do. That reward was something I never got doing anything else until I found my way into my own classroom. As I was interviewing for my first teaching job, my mom passed away after a long fight with colon cancer. Her memorial service was in the high school gym she taught and coached in, and was attended by almost 2,000 loving friends and families. By that time I knew that I was in the right profession, but nothing could have cemented that decision more firmly. So many students talked about how she saved their life because she was the first person to care about them. Parents hugged me and shared stories of how their students changed and went on to such great things. So much can come from believing in our students. The doors it can open for them, and the joy it can bring for ourselves are more rewarding than anything else I can think of. I believe in education in many of the warm hearted, teacherly ways that educators are supposed to. I enjoy teaching every day, and the rewarding nature of my job. I get to do something new every day (if I want to), and my work directly influences other lives. All of that makes me happy.
However, in reality, I believe in education for a very selfish reason. I want my students to make this world a better place to live in, and I think they are capable of it. Education is an investment in our youth, and an investment in the future. I want my students to help me live to 100. I want them to find a way to transport me home, so I can avoid the long drives that vacations require. I want clean energy in my lifetime, and a world with a smaller carbon footprint. Because of this, I also believe that my students deserve the best from me. I need to try and make sure that I am teaching students to think critically, to use technology in new ways, and to collaborate with others to accomplish greater goals. The world is evolving and the classroom needs to as well. Students need project based learning, and engaging lessons that make them excited for the free education that they are provided! |
Developing and Articulating Your Leadership PlatformModule 3 |