Choose to Teach - October 2023

So especially with middle school junior high, which is what I teach, they are capable of so much more than what most people think that they are capable of. And I insist on a high level, but I also have made it a point to teach them how to get to that point. You've got to teach kids where they're at, and just because I want them to play at a certain level doesn't mean that they're going to be able to if I don't give them the tools to get there.

There are so many things that I wish that I had known when I started my career other than what I knew at that point. And I think one of the biggest things that I needed to remember or know coming straight out of college is that each one of these students is someone's child. And I know that seems very simple, but becoming a parent taught me so much more about what each child needs and how they need to be respected, admired, cared for, nurtured. I take the opinion with my teaching that every student is on an IEP. They all have an individualized learning plan because they are all different. And then my job as an educator is to find what that child needs and to help them to have a successful experience in my classroom based on where they're at and where their potential is. So I think understanding more than just how to conduct a band into the organizational skills is to really try and reach the child.