Future Teachers Network

How do you manage your classroom?

When I think of my classroom, I don’t necessarily approach it as something that involves managing. I tend to think more about the establishment of a classroom culture, and I find that with a strong classroom culture I often do not find the need to do much managing. I spend a great deal of time at the beginning of the year taking time to get to know my students and establishing a sense of safety and security in our classroom. I treat students as humans first and lead them to see that our relationships in our classroom are reciprocal. Before all else, I strive to make sure each and every student knows that I care about them deeply through my actions and my words. We speak often of “The Golden Rule,” and how it is my job to also treat them the way I would like to be treated, just as I’m asking them to do for one another. We begin by building our community together, and that emphasizes that everyone’s voice, feelings, and thoughts are important. I find that students who feel valued tend to be better at managing themselves and helping others do the same.

How do you interact with and build relationships with parents?

At Back to School Night each year I have a slide in my presentation that I share with parents that shows an equilateral triangle. The top point is labeled with “student,” and the bottom two points are labeled with “families,” and “teacher.” As I share this slide, I explain to parents that we are a team and that the connection between families and myself is integral to supporting the success of their students. This concept of teamwork and a common goal guides my entire philosophy for each school year. Parents have access to my email address and we set up a virtual account on digital platforms (Class Dojo, Seesaw) for easy communication. I keep our classroom learning transparent, honest, and relevant. Parents receive weekly news, information on student progress toward learning goals, and photos/updates of activities occurring in the classroom. By having this open communication with parents and taking moments from my day to help even the busiest parents feel seen and feel connected to our classroom, I find the mutual respect grows and I am supported in return. 

How have you helped a “tough” student?

It goes without saying that in a teaching career, you are going to have students who come through the door of your classroom and need more of you - more patience, more love, more support, more resources. If you see the behaviors and think, “Wow, this student is communicating that he/she needs my help to feel safe and in control,” it helps to reframe your own mindset. A fresh mindset is integral to helping students who need that extra love. Their behaviors are not coming from a place of wanting to bother you, rather, they are communicating that they need something in the way that they may not be able to verbalize. Once I’ve made that shift for myself, I focus on building a relationship with that student by finding and recognizing strengths, valuing interests, and working twice as hard to make sure that student knows they are an integral part of our classroom and that they are important. I honor the need to cool down after a tough day, but hold fast to the belief that each day is a new day and a new beginning. Those “tough” students need teachers to see and believe in their potential, or how can we expect anything to change?

What do you like best about teaching?

It is so hard to narrow it down to just one thing! I feel so fortunate every day to be involved in a profession that I look forward to everyday - a profession that is challenging, rewarding, and anything but repetitive. If I could narrow it down to one thing, one part of teaching that never gets old to me and keeps me so in awe of what I am privileged to do each day...it would be watching students become readers. When I taught kindergarten, I could honestly say that I never tired of being present when a student decodes their first word. The look on that face when each letter sound is made and strung together and the student looks up at you and repeats the word that he/she just sounded out...that moment. That same moment is found in first grade as students grow in proficiency and complete full books and engage in conversations about books with peers. I love helping students feel empowered to access the world through literacy.

How do you build your curriculum?

To be completely transparent, I don’t have a static answer to this question. However, I can share a few principles that I hold to help me make those decisions. First, I think from a student-centered perspective. I ask myself, What are students interested in and how can I connect that to our learning standards? There are definitely trends in things that kids find interesting, so there can be some consistency from year to year. Next, I look at how I can make lessons interdisciplinary. There is never enough time in teaching, so I find value in looking for ways that we can integrate subject areas to build more connections and bring more reality to our learning. Finally, I look for ways to bring social-emotional learning into the conversations as well. I look for texts to use in the classroom that lend themselves to those three qualities and build learning around that, supplementing with additional texts or resources as needed. I like to set up curriculum, lessons, and units that lend themselves to students making natural connections throughout the course of the day. Connections are meaning-making, and meaning-making leads to more lasting learning and curiosity.