Years in Education: 11-15 Caucasian Heterosexual Male High School English and Theory of Knowledge Teacher Q: What do you have in common with your students? A: When it comes to the external or the obvious identity markers, not a tremendous amount because I teach in a diverse school that is 60% students of color from a variety of cultures, which means that most students do not match my identity--white, US born, heterosexual, middle-class, cis-gender male. However, we share a common curiosity and wonder about the world we live in, and I have learned way more from them than I could ever teach. The strongest bond is that we are learners, and furthermore, we are both teachers. I have worked at my current school for twelve years. When I started about 70% of students were white and 30% non-white. The staff in the building was 95% white. Today, we are a rich tapestry of ethnicities, nationalities, genders, and many more identities that makes going to work a delight. It has made me a better teacher to learn from such a rich multitude of lived experience. Although the student body has changed rapidly, the staff in the building is still 95% white. I grew up in a suburb of Dallas, TX and went to a very homogenous school where over 95% of the teachers shared many of my identity markers. I saw many examples of teachers that look like me. My students do not see that, and I believe it is the responsibility of me and my colleagues to provide a curriculum that brings in many voices not just the ones we are familiar with. Additionally, we have a community of successful alumni in the area that have amazing stories that need to be shared. As a TED-Ed Innovative Educator, I have partnered up with a former student to create a venue to support that, and we are calling it The Barbershop of Ideas. Akeem is a talented artist who opened his own barbershop two years ago, and it is the place to be in our community. The purpose of the venue will be showcase examples of success from our community by bringing together alumni, community members, and current students. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: Yes: There needs to be trust for learning to occur and, and trust develops through an authentic relationship. It is difficult for students and adults to start building that relationship when they do not have as much in common. A great teacher does everything he or she can do to find the way to make the connection to have something in common. No: As long as both have empathy for the other person's lived experience because that can be the most powerful thing we have in common. I see that as my main responsibility as a teacher- developing and cultivating empathy by modeling what that looks like and living it through my actions. And when I fail, which I inevitably do, I admit that I made a mistake and use that as a way to continue to build that relationship. Tim is a TED-Ed Innovative Educator. For his Innovation Project he is creating a Barbershop of Ideas where students are having authentic conversations about their ideas and values in a safe space. Follow Tim on Twitter @timleistikow. Photo (c) 2017 Kristin Leong
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Years in Education: 16-20 Caucasian Female 7-8th Grade Digital Teacher Librarian and former High School English Teacher Q: What do you have in common with your students? A: Currently, I teach in a middle school. This is an interesting age of growing because they are leaving the world of concrete ideas and entering into abstract ideas. This means their world of black and white, right and wrong starts to tilt wildly and they are just holding on for dear life trying to navigate what was previously a very defined life. When I was this age, I believe I lived in a more sheltered world where topics like drug abuse, eating disorders, and sex were there, but not prevalent and easy-access as they are today. Mental health definitely wasn’t something that was an acknowledged issue at the middle school level, possibly not even at the high school level. Now, my students face a barrage of social media, television, music, and movies that give them ideas of what right and wrong are and who or what is acceptable. When these images don’t mesh with who they are, our kids struggle with their identity, depression, anger, and rebellion. Because of this, I work hard to make connections that are more than academic level connections. Through my Ted-Ed club and Ted-Ed Innovative Project, my kids and I focus on combining the idea of global citizenship and social justice to create lessons for others to use to help them navigate the ambiguity that they are in. In our efforts, we hope to build a safe environment in which our society starts to become stronger through acceptance of change and challenging the status quo. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: Having commonalities between teachers and students is essential to growth and learning. Before I became a Digital Teacher Librarian, I taught high school English in a high-risk school. My school had 70 countries represented and close to 120 dialects and languages spoken in the households. I grew up in upper-middle class suburban Colorado where diversity was not something common. Working in this school gave me such a wide understanding of the world I live in. I learned more from my students than I could ever hope to have taught them. Experiencing quinciñeras, Vietnamese and Chinese New Year, Day of the Dead and Cinco de Mayo with my students didn’t just increase my cultural awareness, but my students awareness of each other’s cultures. It also increased my empathy for those disenfranchised with learning and education. When I was growing up, it was always when you go to college...My students heard, “if you graduate high school”. The impact of that simple phrase shocked me to the core. When your family and community don’t even expect you to graduate high school, the importance of working to reach graduation distorts like a funhouse mirror. Although I remember many of my students and their hard work and pride from graduating, one student always sticks in my memory. Her name was Maria and she came to me and asked if she could talk to me after school. I worried that she was about to tell me she was pregnant. Prior to Maria, I'd had approximately 50 girls and 10 boys (whose girlfriends were pregnant) come to me with pregnancy news. In fact, Maria had come to me because she didn’t know what to do. She was taking IB classes and doing very well. She wanted to attend Colorado College, a private college in Colorado Springs. Her counselor basically informed her that she shouldn’t shoot so high, she should look at community college because that was what her family could afford. When she spoke to her parents, they also expressed doubt that she could succeed in the high-pressure world of college and suggested she attend community college and then start working for the family business. When she came to me, she was in tears because her dream had been to go to Colorado College and to start a career. She asked me what she should do, how to shift gears to lower her dreams. Instead of jumping on that band wagon, I told her that she should apply to Colorado College. She was a first generation citizen, her parents had immigrated to America before she was born. I told her that there were a lot of scholarships she could apply for and that CC also had scholarships she could apply for. I even found a couple of suggested scholarships. After that talk, I didn’t hear anymore about college, until the spring. Maria asked if I could come to the Senior award night. I did, and on stage, in front of her family, peers, and teachers, it was announced that not only was she accepted to CC, but she received a full-ride scholarship to college. I have never felt more pride for a student for their refusing to give up on their dreams than at that moment. That moment, that student, is the epitome of the importance of connecting with our students. Sometimes, we are the only voice they hear that says “yes, you can.” or “follow your dreams” or “try again, learn from what went wrong and try again.” That is the reason most teachers become teachers and those connections are why it matters if students and teachers share commonalities. Not just because it helps them learn, but because it is essential to have that lifeline when things start going wonky in life. Tobye is a TED-Ed Innovative Educator. Her Innovation Project is inspring Colorado students to become global learners. Follow her on Twitter @tmertelt. Photo (c) 2017 Kristin Leong Years in Education: 11-15 Caucasian Heterosexual Male Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math Integration Elementary Teacher Q: What do you have in common with your students? A: I teach in a demographically diverse elementary school: linguistically, culturally, and economically. With 15+ different languages spoken in a given classroom and no ethnicity representing more than a third of the population, the students I teach are generally as different from each other as they are from me. That being said, I did grow up in the district where I teach and we share that experience. Most of my students enjoy learning and school. Our region is a STEM hub so students like technology. Most also love hands-on learning and science. Engineering activities are popular as well. In addition to increasing access to those STEM interests, I am able to serve as a male role model for the boys (there are very few male elementary teachers). As such, I am able to model equal access for all and showing the assertive boys the value of encouraging less assertive students. Being a very diverse population, we value and celebrate our diversity together. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: Yes. As human beings, when forming relationships we tend to connect where we have things in common and build from there. I am fortunate that my school is so diverse because we all share that as a sense of community. Yet, I am also aware that it is hard for many of my students to look at me and see themselves because of differences in gender, culture, language, ethnicity, etc. With this in mind, it is important for educators to seek out as many things that they do have in common with their students as possible, e.g. sports, music, hobbies. Teachers should also take an interest in their students' unique interests and encourage them in these areas as a way to connect. Still, having students able to see themselves reflected in their role models is important. To this end, I cannot change who I am, but as a teacher I can reach out to community members and ask them to visit our school. So, yes, it matters and we need to do what we can to encourage teachers from all backgrounds to enter the profession--a diverse workforce is a stronger workforce in so many ways. In the meantime, those of us who are already teaching can invite in role models that our students can relate to and see themselves reflected in as they envision their own dreams. As adults dedicated to the future success of all of our students, we all have this in common. Douglas is a Washington State Teacher Leader and an innovator in the Maker Movement. To find out how Doug is creating hands-on, student-led opportunities for his students to connect their learning to the real world, follow him on Twitter at @DaskalosDouglas. Years in Education: 2--3 White Cis-Male Middle and High School Social Studies Teacher Q: What do you have in common with your students? A: I spent nearly thirty years in the business world, mostly high tech, before I got my teaching certificate. Although I am old enough to be a grandfather to my students, I can almost always find commonalities with them. We can talk about favorite books and favorite authors, I can talk sports, or cars, or music or theater. Because I am an older teacher, my life experiences are broad and deep. If a student has knowledge about a subject, I can usually dredge something up that relates. We are all humans. We share life experiences. I know love and loss. I can relate to the tragedies and comedies that my students are going through, as they journey up and down the emotional scale. That 8th grader going through an emotional breakup with their partner? We could laugh that off as just a silly Romeo and Juliet romance. But they are experiencing it, and it is very real to them in all its horribleness, and it’s exacerbated by their fluctuating hormone levels. A student identifies as a member of the Queer communities? I can relate: one of my own children came out as gay, then trans, as a teenager. Another is severely depressed? Been there, done that, got the T-shirt: I literally kicked down locked and bolted doors to save my kid who attempted suicide so many times I lost count. This one feels isolated because they aren’t part of the in-crowd? So was I. It’s called life, and we all journey through it without a guidebook. Our students are having to do it without the maturity of an adult and the wisdom of years to help them. No, I don’t listen to all of the same kinds of music my students love, but I listen to enough that I’ve heard or seen some of their favorites. I keep up on YA literature because it interests me and I personally know many local YA authors (the advantage of being married to one, attending conferences with her, and having common friends!). As an older, white, cis male I’ve not had to personally deal with the many issues surrounding racism, sexism, queer and religious intolerance, etc., but, I have friends from all kinds of backgrounds who do so on a daily basis. I can empathize with almost anyone. One of my greatest strengths as a teacher, is building rapport with my students, and I work constantly to continually build a safe community in my classroom. The only way I can do that is to accept my students where they are, wherever that might be, and to listen to their stories. Each student’s voice is essential. Knowing their voice is heard is even more important – and listening more than talking, my friends, is what each of us can do. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: It’s helpful. We certainly don’t have the same experiences that our students have, nor can we ever. However, by listening more than we talk, and by validating their experiences and assuring them that they aren’t alone, more than makes up for the facts that we are not their age, not their race, not their orientation, or gender, or immigration status, or religion, nor all the other factors that make up their story. In addition to being a teacher, Andrew is also a pirate. Follow him on Twitter @andrewlbond. Years in Education: 11--15 Caucasian Heterosexual Female First in Family to Graduate From College English Language Development & AVID High School Teacher Q: What do you have in common with your students? A: Like my English Language Learner students, I worked hard in school to learn another language, Spanish, which helps me to connect not only with their language-related struggles, but also allows me to better form relationships with their families and encourage their primary language development. Travel has also enabled some surprising commonalities. For the past eleven years, I have spent a considerable amount of time in Asia during my breaks, so in addition to being familiar with some of my students' home towns, I know the feeling of being a stranger in a strange land, with little knowledge of the language, ability to communicate with others, and the general discomfort of being in a completely unfamiliar setting. This helps me relate to and empathize with newcomer students who are often feeling the same way within a week to a few months after moving to the United States. Another thing I have in common with several of my students is that I was the first in my family to graduate from college. While I was extremely fortunate that my parents were overall very supportive of me throughout high school, they were ill-equipped to help me navigate the world of college applications and the FAFSA. I did not have a close relationship with a guidance counselor or teacher to help me with the complexities of applications, moving away, and enrolling in college, but in retrospect, I wish I had. I hope to relate that experience to my students who may be too afraid to ask questions. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: Yes, I believe that it is important that students and teachers share commonalities. I feel that it is extremely impactful for students to see their reflection in and have shared experiences with their teachers. That being said, there are many things a teacher can do to cultivate authentic relationships and establish mutual respect and trust. I also believe that there is much to be learned from a diversity of experiences and perspectives, and frankly, learning from and about my students has made me a better person. That being said: has it been as beneficial for them to learn about my experience as a white woman? I'm not so sure. Our teacher education programs need to actively recruit more diverse candidates to effectively represent our student population. Our students need to make those connections through better representation in education and a host of other fields to better help them aspire to be whatever it is they choose to be. Tiffany is a TED-Ed Innovative Educator. To find out more about how Tiffany's Innovation Project is connecting classrooms around the world, follow her on Twitter @BadgerEDHS. Years in Education: 7-10 Caucasian Heterosexual Female Middle and High School English Language Arts Teacher Q: What do you have in common with your students? A: I have a lot in common with my students. This is a wealthy school district in a suburb; it is majority white, with a sizable Asian-American community, and other minority and immigrant groups spread around, too. I grew up in a middle-class suburb of San Francisco, but went to high school in a more affluent, Bellevue-like city. Conspicuous consumption was all around me; most students got a car when they could drive. The majority of my peers expected to graduate from high school and continue to a four-year university. My high school was competitive and students took themselves seriously. Because I lived in a different, less-affluent city, however, I was slightly out of place at my high school. I think I identify with a lot of my current students in that I always feared - and still do, to a certain extent - being exposed as an imposter. I think a lot of students - not necessarily because of wealth, but rather because of self-image - feel like imposters some of the time. You make sure to talk a good game and put up the right front so that you belong, but you don't always believe that you do. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: I am supposed to say that it does matter. I know that students need to see themselves reflected in the people who have power over them. I know that students need to feel a connection and that a connection is certainly easier, quicker, and more apparent if there is ready empathy. But I am going to boldly say that having things in common with my students doesn't matter. What does matter is that I am open. A teacher should listen, observe, and have compassion. A teacher should know where she comes from and understand her perspective as she seeks to comprehend her students. Empathy is great. Understanding because I have been there is valuable. Does it matter? Yes. But, implicit in that word is that is is necessary, and to that I say No. What really matters is that I am open to - that I strive for and work toward - a real connection with my students. I want to know them. I grow to love them. That matters. That is necessary. Jen is a middle and high school English Language Arts teacher. Follow her on Twitter @JenASPiper. Years in Education: 11-15 Caucasian Male Heterosexual First in Family to Graduate From College Library Media, Technology, and Language Arts Teacher Q: What do you have in common with your students? A: As a student growing up on the North Shore of Boston, MA, I managed to progress through school with a minimum of interest and engagement. Neither sufficiently advanced to be flagged as “gifted”, nor challenged enough to require individualized support, I floated straight through that bucolic center passage of mediocrity, serenely disengaged from what was transpiring around me. When the time came to acknowledge the oncoming reality of high school graduation, I had no ambitions to attend college. I had no understanding of what college was, or how it worked. While my mother had returned to school as an adult to earn her Associate’s Degree, no one in my immediate or extended family had ever graduated with a four-year degree. I simply couldn’t imagine a scenario in which I was a college student because I had no conceptual framework, no schema, for what that even looked like. Faced with this uncertainty, I fell into assuming that I, too, would graduate high school and find employment somewhere, doing something. And this would no doubt have been the case were it not for a series of serendipitous events that directed me, last minute, to attend college. In the years since, I’ve become the first member of my family to graduate college with a four-year degree. I later spent time traveling and teaching in Beijing and India and discovered that I have a heart for education. Returning to school in 2004, I earned my Master’s degree in education and have spent the past decade focused on creating an environment that encourages students to assume greater agency in their own education. I mention this because I honestly believe that my experiences as a middling and disinterested student has provided me with a keen sense of empathy for similar students in my classes and in our community. How can I help to build learning opportunities that encourage engagement and place students in the driver’s seat of their own education? How can I help spark the interest of a student who is struggling to find their place and create a stronger sense of purpose and agency in their school experience? Q: Does it matter that sudents and teachers have things in common? A: I think it's essential for students and teachers to find common ground. Teaching is about relationships, and finding shared interests, experiences, and realities help to forge and develop relationships and strengthen empathy between everyone involved. Teachers need to understand and relate to the experiences of their students. Place themselves in the shoes - and the seats! - of their students in order to build relevant lessons that spark engagement. Conversely, I believe it’s equally important for students to see that the circle of their experiences overlaps with that of their teachers. That there is a commonality, a shared commitment to growth and learning on both sides of the relationship. I read somewhere that ‘Teaching is relational, not transactional’, and that, I believe, sums it up quite nicely! David is a 2017 TED-Ed Innovative Educator. He is currently connecting students across communiites to work together to document our collective history. Follow David on Twitter @designsaunders. Years in Education: 4-6 Caucasian Female Heterosexual First in Family to Graduate From College High School English Teacher Q: What do you have in common with your students? A: When I was a student, I was always too much. I asked too many questions, I was too loud, I was too anxious to sit still. I was also always too bored to care about what we were learning. It seemed to me that school took something I had always loved (reading and writing) and turned it into something I loathed. I wasn't stupid, but I failed quite a few classes in 9th and 10th grades. I even failed my 9th grade English class, which is pretty ironic considering I taught freshman English for the first four years of my career. If someone had told me that I would become a high school English teacher I would have laughed and laughed and laughed, but that's what makes it so incredible. Anything can happen. I want to be the kind of teacher that takes something students love and makes it even better, or something students can't stand and show them how amazingly-ridiculously-mind-blowingly-life-changingly beautiful language is. Okay so I made up the word changingly. But that's because language is awesome. My students know that I am there for them, no matter what. Without judgment. I tell them I am a real model more than a role model, and that we're all imperfect and in it together. Every single one of us, teachers and students included, learns best when we are challenged, and we grow the most when we are outside of our comfort zones. We all learn from each other and need each other. We cannot do any of this alone. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: It matters so much that teachers and students have things in common. As a student who never fit the mold, I was bored and rebellious in school. I ended up attending an alternative high school and it changed my life. I am now teaching in the same district where I once sat at the end of my first semester of 10th grade and told my mom I was over it. I was dropping out. I hated it. I recently had a conversation with one of my sophomores who was refusing to work and told me he was just "done with school." I was able to say to him, "I have been where you are and felt what you are feeling right now. I want you to know I understand. How can I help? What do you need?" Is that going to change his entire life? Probably not, but it's a good start. I also believe that we have more commonalities than differences, and that when we focus on the love that we all need and share, the lessons flow freely. Building relationships based on understanding and love is the single most important factor for effective teaching and learning. Rachel is a 2017 Washington State Teacher Leader. Follow her on Twitter @wildnfreewiley. Years in Education: 11-15 Caucasian Female High School English Language Arts Teacher Q: What do you have in common with your students? A: In a meeting once, a fellow educator lumped kids from single parent homes into one stereotype of dysfunction. I surprised that individual when I said I was from a single parent home. We can not lower our expectations of students because of their circumstances. If anything we have to be the voice that says, "Yes, if you want to, you can." I was that student living with grandparents for awhile. My parents divorced during the summer between 7th and 8th grade. This meant moving in with my grandparents for a year while my mom began substitute teaching and looking for a permanent teaching position--she had just finished her elementary education degree as an adult student. It also meant going from a precarious financial situation to situational poverty. I knew we did not have a lot of money before, but after my parents divorced we were signed up for free lunch, and I'm sure receiving other forms of government assistance. Although a working single-parent, I cannot remember my mom missing a volleyball or softball game. This move also meant going from the suburbs of the west side of Washington to the forests of northeast Washington and experiencing a type of culture shock. It was not the first time I had moved, but it was the first move to a rural setting. Living in both suburban and rural settings has given me a unique perspective on the challenges facing both types of students. It seems small, but my interest in sports has also been important in the classroom, especially for my male students. Talking about the latest scores, mostly the NFL (Go Seahawks!) and college basketball (Go Zags!), has been an ice breaker with more than one student. I try to share this interest and others in order to build a shared sense of community and belonging. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: Understanding the reality of our students' lives is the foundation for building relationships and positive interactions. We construct the ideas of the world around us based on our experiences and make assumptions accordingly. If we have no exposure to those circumstances, it is difficult to help students succeed. All too often I have heard teachers assume a student just needs to make up their mind to work harder. While students in certain situations do have to work harder to over come their circumstances, it cannot be done by will power alone. This guidance must be founded in understanding and empathy. We cannot possibly understand all circumstances, but if a staff as a whole is diverse, there is a voice for every student. Jennifer is a 2017 Washington State Teacher Leader. She has six preps this year. To find out how she's keeping it all organized, follow her CorelaborateWA.org blog and find her on Twitter @gozags2001. Years in Education: 20+ Caucasian Female First Generation American Middle and High School Humanities Teacher Q: What do you have in common with your students? A: I grew up in the school district where I spent most of my teaching career. It is a suburban, upper-middle class area, and I'm sure my experience growing up in that environment is similar to that of many of my students. However, I also realize that just because two people grew up in the same place, it doesn't mean that they have everything in common. My parents didn't divorce, but many of my students' parents have; I am not a person of color, but many of my students are; I did not suffer abuse, but some of my students have. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: I've always been a firm believer that a strong relationship with a student is absolutely, hands-down the most important element of being an effective teacher. On a macro level, sure it helps to have things in common with students because it makes those relationships easier to form. I do believe it would be harder for me, a suburban white woman, to walk into a classroom in an area where kids have experienced things that I just haven't. I haven't experienced poverty or violence or the racism faced by so many. I could not look at kids who have experienced those things and tell them that I know how it feels and how it impacts them...because I don't. However, there are still ways to connect with kids to let them know that I really do care. I'm a natural sharer and like to let kids know what I'm reading, what I did over the weekend, that I was overjoyed when my soccer team pulled off the late win or angry when the guy cut me off on the way to work. Creating a comfortable environment where kids feel like they can be open helps with that important relationship and connection. Kids need that connection; they need to feel like they are important and loved. After over twenty years of teaching, Michelle is happily retired. Follow her adventures in golfing, parenting, and pet care on Instagram @michhood4. |
ROLL CALLHumanizing the gaps separating teachers and students. Archives
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