Blog Post #1: Core Values and Virtues as a Teacher

    All it took was a global pandemic for me to realize I 100% wanted to be an elementary school teacher. I had tossed it around for years as an idea, but I was never set on it. Going into college, I was torn between two majors, elementary education and theatre. I'd had experience working with kids and always loved it. At the time, 18-year-old me felt very overwhelmed by the idea of having to teach a whole class on my own. In my experience working with kids, I had always had someone else to take charge of the group and didn't feel confident I could. During my first semester, I took a course in the education department and loved it but still didn't feel like it was the right path for me at the time. I ultimately decided to become a theatre major. I knew I could get the best of both worlds as I could still get to work with kids and perform. It seemed like the perfect mix. I was in my last semester, and everything seemed great as I was looking for jobs and auditions in the Twin Cities. Then it was March 2020, and the world shut down from Covid-19. Now what? I now had to put my performing arts career on hold. I didn't really know which way was up anymore. All I had planned for during my four years was suddenly nonexistent for who knew how long. After graduating in May, I was sitting in front of my laptop back to square one of job searching. Just for fun, I searched performing arts jobs in the Twin Cities. The only thing that popped up was a Reading Corps job for a performing arts school. I was intrigued and loved the idea. After doing some research about Reading Corps, I found a local school that needed a reading tutor. I know this will sound cliché, but I truly felt in my gut that this was what I was supposed to be doing. I immediately applied and got the job at Central Park Elementary in Roseville, MN. Tutoring kids in grades K-3 with literacy interventions was my first experience working in a school setting. This summer, I had the opportunity to be part of the AmeriCorps Emergency Response team. I assisted with Roseville Area school's version of summer school, Summer Discovery. I was placed at Brimhall Elementary, where I served as a teacher's assistant and literacy tutor in a 3rd-grade classroom. In my experiences with students, teachers, and staff at Central Park and Brimhall, I knew that I finally found the confidence to teach a class of my own.  

           I think it is important that I learn about mindful awareness in the classroom setting and self-care strategies in this pre-service preparation program. I believe it will help me be a better teacher and overall person. I know that there will be times my students or I will feel overwhelmed or distracted. With these tools, I will be better able to recenter myself or make needed adjustments that are best for everyone. I also think it is vital to have these tools now as they will help me establish mindfulness on my own before I reach the classroom setting. If I have mastery of mindful awareness and self-care strategies, it will be easier to educate my students on these topics. Students learn by observing, and if they see how I'm taking steps to care for myself and be mindfully aware, there is a good chance they will pick up on it and even replicate it.

           My favorite quote from all the readings "Bad teachers distance themselves from the subject they are teaching—and, in the process from their students. Good teachers join self, subject, and students in the fabric of life because they teach from an integral and undivided self; they manifest in their own lives, and evoke in their students, a "capacity for connectedness." They are able to weave a complex web of connections between themselves, their subjects, and their students, so that students learn to weave a world for themselves." (Palmer, p. 16, 1997). This quote resonated with me because I've seen the difference it makes when a teacher knows the material and is genuinely passionate about it. I can easily recall having teachers who had no passion and appeared to be forced to teach specific material. As a result, I can't tell you much about the content of those classes. In contrast, I've had teachers who ooze passion for the material they teach. These teachers took pride in sharing ideas, stories and posing thought-provoking questions.  These teachers were effortlessly able to build class communities and induvial relationships with students. These are the kinds of teachers that I aspire to be.

           My top 3 core values are arts/fun, belonging/community, and trust/acceptance. I chose to combine values for my top 3 as I feel that they go well together and that you need one to have the other. I first decided to combine arts and fun into one because I come from a performing arts background, and I find that kids learn a lot when they don't realize they are learning. When I was a kid in school, it was hard to stay motivated during lectures and note-taking. When teachers found fun things to integrate into lessons, I remembered the material better. I used that trick with some of my reading corps kids when they needed a brain break. I would play hangman on the whiteboard with them using sight words or words from the story we were reading, and it worked like a charm. I also chose art as it can help visual and hands-on learners in their studies. The second one I decided to combine is belonging and community which goes hand in hand to me. I want students in my class to feel supported by me as their teacher and their peers. No student should feel isolated on their own island. I want to create a welcoming environment that uplifts all students. Having been in a situation where I felt isolated in school, I want to do what I can to alleviate this issue in my classroom. The last ones I chose to combine are trust and acceptance. I put these two values together as I feel that trust stems from acceptance. I also decided on these two after I overheard a student tell a teacher that they didn't have a trusted adult in the school. I want to be a trusted adult for any student in my school. In doing this, I want to teach my students to accept each other while helping them build a community of trust. I want my students to have self-growth as well as academic growth. To achieve that, they need to be in a space that's accepting of them and with people they trust.  

           My top 2 core virtues are wisdom and knowledge and justice. I chose these two virtues as they encompassed many virtues into one. Wisdom and knowledge include the sub-virtues of creativity, curiosity, open-mindedness, love of learning, and perspective. Justice includes the sub-virtues of fairness, leadership, and teamwork. I feel that it's vital to incorporate wisdom and knowledge into my class through a curious, open mind as new ideas are constantly presented to students. I want them to come at the material open to learning new things and seeing things from different perspectives. As for justice, I want to create a fair environment while encouraging students to take the lead on things. When it comes to working in groups, I want to make sure that it's not the same students always taking charge. When the same students continue to take control, it doesn't always help the full development of each team member. Each student should feel like they can lead if they choose to.

           My why is because I've always loved working with kids and witnessing the light bulb moments. I recall playing school when I was little with my friends and saying I wanted to be a teacher when I grew up. Although the calling came in waves, I've always had a knack for helping others and working with the kids. My favorite was always working with kids that others labeled as difficult or challenging to work with. I hate that kids are labeled this way, as I've always been able to get them to cooperate while also building a connection with them. These kids were just misunderstood and wanted attention or needed things explained differently to succeed. My why also includes meeting students where they are and realizing that one size does not fit all. 

           My purpose as a teacher is to help make a difference in kids' lives. I want kids to come to school excited to learn and be with their peers. The last thing I want is for a student not to enjoy or be scared coming into class.  My purpose is also to be the person to push kids to be and do their best. I also want to educate and support my students and teach them that mistakes are a part of learning and happen to everyone, even teachers. My purpose is to help students feel safe, heard, seen, and loved. I want students to know that they can trust me and count on me for things, academic or not. 

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

~Maya Angelou

            I choose this quote because it's rare that students remember course content forever, but I hope they recall me as a teacher who made them feel welcomed, cared for, and supported in their studies. Sometimes all students need is a person in their corner fighting for them. Each student has "that teacher," and I hope to have a student say that of me one day.