What makes great teaching?

I think what makes great teaching is having the understanding that we as educators have the influence to change people’s lives and shape multiple generations, and acquiring all the knowledge we can to be able to make this possible in a positive way. As teachers, we have so much freedom in what we choose to share with our students. While we obviously have our curriculum that we are required to teach, there is so much more that an educator does that this class has taught me. We teach our students not only their basic school subjects, but how to function as a person in society. How to see things in another’s perspective, how to care for one another, how to have compassion for the world around them. Growing up, we’re so used to just our bubble and what inhabits it. Our family’s structure, the things our individual families face. When we go to school, we’re exposed to everything else that is. Most problems arise from lack of awareness of others’ struggles, so it’s important that we teach our students that these struggles are normal. Some people choose or are not able to pursue higher level education, which is completely okay, but that highlights the importance that public education plays in developing members of a community. We should teach our students the value that difference brings. Without difference, what would make someone special? Teaching these differences and that difference is not a negative thing is in my opinion one of the strongest aspects of great teaching.

How do we talk about issues that matter?

In order to talk about issues that matter, you must first acknowledge what matters to you. I think that before we can decide the things we believe matter, we must first educate ourselves as much as we can so we can have a reasoned opinion. I personally don’t like to speak on things I don’t know about, but I feel like that is often how most information gets passed around, whether true or false. Everyone should be a learner at all times, but our progress moves backwards when we choose to share false information. When we understand what’s going on around us, we can then educate others around us. I feel like the best learning appears in everyday situations when we can learn from anyone, maybe a stranger you’ll only see once or maybe from a good friend. This kind of knowledge you acquire is learned in a respectful exchange, with the learner holding respect for the teacher and listening to them thoughtfully, and the person teaching sharing something they see as important. This is how we begin to talk about things that matter, by listening to each other and being passionate about the things we’ve learned and see to be important. When we can have conversations about real life things that real people experience, we are opening our ears and minds to an honest and needed discussion. When we choose to ignore something when it doesn’t affect us, we are limiting our knowledge and potential to bring changes to these issues, as well as losing compassion for our communities, which, in my opinion, is one of the most important virtues to maintain when attempting to educate our students. 

How are schools integrated?

Although on the surface we’re meant to believe that schools are equal today, we’re still faced with less-visible yet extremely dominating factors that heavily contribute to modern-day segregation across America. As children, the segregation is much less apparent, but as we grow older we learn about experiences like redlining and the racial wealth gap, which inherently have affected people’s living conditions for generations. A term I’ve heard mentioned a lot in the last few years is “generational wealth” referring to things passed on from generation to generation like homeownership and access to higher education. Generational wealth and poverty has been dictated by, amongst many other factors, the redlining that occured over 50 years ago. Growing up, I went to a school on a military base. There I attended elementary through junior high, and throughout elementary I grew accustomed to my peers. In intermediate school, students from another elementary school were mixed with the students from mine, but mostly all of the students who attended the other school were in a different branch of classes with different teachers than mine. I feel like this instilled a bias of “the other side of town” at a very early age. By junior high, everyone was then mixed, but everyone had their friend groups already established with who they had classes with previously, apart from the few outliers. It wasn’t until I was older that I realized the separation of the students was caused by the school zoning based on lower-income and higher-income neighborhoods.  Because I saw this first hand, I do not believe that schools are completely integrated today, we still see the discrimination that was supposed to be eradicated decades ago in our daily lives. 

What rights should be protected for students and teachers?

Since I have been in school, I have watched many rules change right before my eyes. For example, I feel like the dress code in schools is always fluctuating, going back and forth between strict and lax, depending on the school staff to enforce it or not. While I agree, there should be some sort of regulation to prevent anything inappropriate in the school environment, I think it’s cool when schools allow their students to express their individuality with colored hair, etc. I feel like it’s a form of freedom of speech, freedom to express oneself. However, there are rules being passed that I believe are extremely detrimental to a student’s education. I’m referring to the “criminal race theory” bill recently passed by Governor Greg Abbott as well as other state legislatures. I feel like it directly violates and limits a student’s capacity to learn. Students should be aware of what’s going on around them and educators should be able to conduct healthy, productive discussions on topics. This bill prevents educators from discussing things like systemic racism. History in America was unfortunately already heavily whitewashed, glossing over a terrible history, and this only makes things worse, in a time when people should be more educated than ever. It should go without saying that a student should be able to learn to their full capacity, and that an educator should be able to teach without fear of penalty for providing an honest education. As an educator, providing a safe environment is one of the main priorities. I don’t think withholding important information is conducive towards that safe environment, and only promotes ignorance.

How can educational philosophies influence schooling?

After coming to university and meeting people from many different places over the years, I learned how small-sighted of a curriculum my school district offered. Schools around me were very progressive offering a wide variety of elective courses exploring subjects like astronomy or specialized art classes, while the high school I went to only offered the basic arts. They focused heavily on the basic academics and the athletics department. A lot of small towns, especially in Texas, are very driven by sports. I don’t think there was really enough funding to focus on much more than the “necessities”, nor did they care for the extra programs. I feel like in smaller districts like where I went to school, this is often the case. Teaching students in such an essentialist way blocks the potential of progressivism or social reconstruction, which, in my opinion, are two very powerful philosophies. They pave the way for creativity and independence for the student to take learning into their own hands and make new discoveries. These philosophies in a multicultural educational setting allows  students to get exposure to things they may have never learned otherwise. I think the use of a variety of educational philosophies as an educator makes a world of difference in the type of learners you nurture and the aspirations they choose to follow, and all should be taken into consideration and used with balance. I also think it’s important to go outside of what you know and find what makes your own teaching unique, what your educational philosophy is. It could change the world.

How am I going to educate all children?

I’m willing to do whatever it takes to educate all children. This means being flexible and open to learning new methods and actually utilizing them. With this class, I really like that social media usage is the primary tool we use. It expands our ideas to people who never would have heard us without it. I remember when I went through, following different educational accounts, I got my first follow back from someone else in the education community and was so excited! I thought it was crazy that my page was expanding already. I definitely plan to continue using my account as my career continues because there’s such a wealth of knowledge at my fingertips beyond just what I learn in my classes. Being an educator, it’s important to move with the times. Your students are forever changing, just like what they need to learn. Simultaneously expanding your own knowledge as you teach your students is one of the major keys to succeeding in providing the best education you can. This, along with ensuring a healthy and creative environment for your students to grow in, especially paying mind to those who require more assistance. One way I’ll make sure I’m accessible to my students who may need extra help is to be at school early and late to not only ensure I’m ready for each school day but to allow a sort of “study hall” for struggling students or students who want to make sure they’re on track. This, as well as some sort of open lunch period for students to come in. I know personally I generally didn’t like asking for help in class due to social anxiety, but if there was an open time for me to come in that’s when I would come in for any questions, so I want to provide the same opportunity for my future students to increase my capability of educating all children.

What Inspires You?

To be completely honest, I didn’t always know that I wanted to teach.

I actually used to want to be in the marine science field. I even went to school

for it my freshman year. However, when it was finally becoming real, I wasn’t

very passionate about it. I didn’t want to go through life not enjoying what I was doing,

and at the time I was attending Texas A&M Corpus Christi which was a far way from home.

So, I decided to transfer schools. When transferring, I didn’t know what I wanted to study.

I took a while to think about it, talking to friends and family and getting their insight.

My dad is actually the one who suggested I should consider teaching.

I thought about it, and I’ve always liked kids, coming from a big family and having

babysat as a teenager as well as volunteer at a summer camp for a few years.

I decided to go for it! And I’m so glad I did. Coming to Texas State really changed my life.

I was in classes that were so much more interesting, and surrounded by so many

like-minded peers. I felt like I finally found my path.

When volunteering as a camp counselor, I got to work with children ranging from

6 years old to 17 years old. It was really cool to be able to get to know the younger

children as well as the older kids. From this and from a later job as a pre-school

teacher, I learned that I work well with all ages, but I especially enjoy working in

the 4th/5th grade range. When they’re that age it’s so cool to see kids forming

their own personalities and starting to express their individuality. As far as subject-wise,

I always enjoyed English and science, however I’ve started to really appreciate history

and social studies in recent years. Most schools have teachers in the intermediate

range teaching two or more subjects, so if I were to pick two it would probably be

English and social studies. If possible though, I’d like to be able to teach math and

science as well because I really do enjoy all of the subjects. Something that I’ve

recently decided as I’ve grown into my spirituality is that I want to implement it into

my classroom and reflect it in my teaching style. I’m not quite sure how yet, but I’ve

seen a lot of teachers recently designing their classrooms to introduce their students

to and cultivate emotional intelligence. This inspired me to want to do this with my

own students. I’ve been learning a lot independently through resources on the

internet, but I think that after I graduate I want to further my education with another

higher institution dedicated solely to spirituality. I didn’t know such a thing existed,

but I recently learned of one and it really caught my interest. As I continue in my

journey as an educator, everything just keeps falling into place and

each day I grow more and more excited to see my values coming to fruition.