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.
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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: 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. Years in education: 16-20 Australian/Canadian Caucasian Heterosexual Female Elementary School Teacher Q: What do you have in common with your students? A: I was born and raised in Australia. As a child, my family moved quite a few times and I ended up going to eight different schools between Kindergarten and Year 12. As a painfully shy child, this was challenging but gave me a great many gifts too. As an adult I continued to travel a lot and have lived and taught on three different continents. I married a wonderful Canadian man and have since settled in Canada. Even though I come from an English speaking country, I sometimes feel like an outsider. After ten years, not a week goes by where I don’t think, Do they completely understand me? Or, Wait, is that an Australian or English expression, is it global or Canadian.. I can only imagine how much more intense those questions and feelings would be, if my first language was completely different. When I meet another Aussie, I often feel like I just ‘get’ them and they often ‘get’ me. There are fewer misunderstandings and moments where I feel I have to further explain myself. They often have a sense of where I come from and what a special place in my heart my homeland has for me. I feel like I can’t really talk too much about Australia to other because it's not a shared experience, it’s in the past and it's almost too painful at times. I don’t want to be sad I want to try and live in the moment and make the most of where I am, but Australia has a chunk of my heart! I have just finished teaching for almost ten years in schools where there is a high migrant population. I feel deeply for these families and can relate, at some level, to being different and the struggle to get settled in a country. It is so difficult to establish yourself, set down roots, find your people and communicate well. I think having this shared experience does connect us at a deeper level and gives me a greater sense of empathy, understanding and connection with my students. I feel I must clarify that even though I miss my home and feel different at times, I don’t regret traveling at all! I actually think it has greatly enriched my life and my perspective. I find the world such an amazing and inspiring place. And the more that I experience the more that I realize we really aren’t that different from each other. We really are all just human beings, learning together. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: I think it is important that students and teachers have things in common. It helps to build relationships when you find common interests. And, when you really get to know your students, there is always common ground. My most common connectors are sports, books and shared experiences like being a migrant. Canada is a ‘mosiac’ of cultures and has a very diverse population. Fortunately, I've connected with a variety of different people in my community who have supported who I am and understood where I was coming from. They acknowledged and valued me and my experiences. All schools that I’ve worked at in Canada have actively worked to include all in their community and celebrate the diversity of cultures and experiences. I hope I’ve provided some support to my students in this way too. Even simple things, like when I see a student experience snow for the first time, I get it and I remember the awe I felt in my first snow moment! My TED-Ed Innovation project ‘Sprout’ has really has built on my experiences of living and working around the globe. Sprout is an online space where students pitch any and all of their possible TED-Ed talk ideas and give each other feedback. My goal is to connect students around the world and have them communicate and build stronger ideas, in collaboration with each other. There’s a lot we can learn from each other and I hope I can facilitate this happening, a little more often. When we celebrate differences and encourage connections and dialogue, I think it has the potential to make our world a more accepting and peaceful place. Megan is a 2017 TED-Ed Innovative Educator and is the Founder of Sprout. To learn more about how Sprout is growing ideas and connecting students around the world, follow Megan on Twitter @lowesclass and visit sproutideas.net. Years in education: 4-6 Latina Female First in family to graduate from college Kindergarten Teacher Q: What do you have in common with your students? A: When I was in school as a child in Seattle, I moved a lot and my mom did everything she could to save money for a house. We were mostly in survival mode until I turned 12, and finally bought a home in Puyallup. In Seattle, I had a very diverse group of friends whose parents valued their cultural roots. My best friends were Swedish, Venezuelan, and Polish. I didn't use Spanish at school, but I got the message that being different and having different cultural traditions was the norm. When we moved to Puyallup, it was a whole other world. Everyone was white. Although adults were nice and respectful, the message I got in school here was very different. Kids here had a specific association with Latinos, and it was very negative, so I stopped using Spanish all together. Especially as a teenager, when it is so important to affirm a child's identity, I wish I had come across adults or students who were curious about my culture. I wish I had come across people who thought it was an asset to speak another language, or who expressed positive views about those I identified with. Instead, I worked very hard from 12-18 to hide things about me that made me a Latina so that I could be socially successful in school. The more my mom tried to force me to use Spanish at home, the more I rebelled and refused to use it. I still had a great experience in school and I can look back on with fond memories, but I wonder all the time where my language skills would be if I hadn't stopped using Spanish for 6 years. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: When I was doing my student teaching, I became close to many of the Latina girls in my 5th grade class. Since my Spanish isn't 100% on point anymore, I tend to use it in Spanglish style, switching between languages depending on which one lends itself better to the message I'm trying to get across. The girls communicated in a similar style, and we clicked right away. I think there's a huge need for bicultural models in my generation and in the generations after. The immigrant generation (parents) provide guidelines on "who we are" and "where we come from," but are not always able to help their kids navigate an American world. With this group of 5th grade girls, I felt like I could encourage part of their identities that made them Latinas, but I could also talk to them about college and careers and parents. One event that struck me most about our interactions was when one of the girls asked me to be her Godmother for her Quinceañera. I was excited and honored, but when I asked her what I needed to do to prepare for such an important day, she laughed and said, "You know! You've had one, right?" I shook my head. "No! I'm Peruvian." We have a lot of Latinos in our school district, but most are Mexican. We were able to share with each other what kinds of things bonded us as Latinos, but also the differences we have between countries. It was a great moment of learning, but also served as a lesson for us both. You can always learn from each other, no matter your position as teacher or student. We were equals in that moment, and I hope that I can create more moments of that kind of equality in my classroom as long as I teach. Jill is a 2017 Washington State Teacher Leader. Follow her on Twitter @LlamaLovesK. Years in Education: 7-10 African-American + Native-American Heterosexual Female Chemistry and Forensic Science Teacher Q: What do you have in common with your students? A: My students are from different backgrounds, and we have gone through some of the same things when it comes to racism in an America. I have taught predominately at low-income schools with immigrant students. My students judge me the first day meeting me. They called me an Oreo, white girl, rich girl, etc. Once the students hear the stories of what I have gone through, then they realize that we are not different at all. I tell the students that I grew up in a rural town that was predominately Caucasian. In elementary school, students would not be my friend because I was black and they thought they would become dirty like me. I had teachers call me the n-word. Police followed me because they didn't believe my family lived in a particular place in town. Police stopped me because they didn't think I could afford the car I have. They've followed me in stores. Once the students hear my story, they talk to my about their stories. They understand that we have more in common and relate to each other. Though I didn't grow up in a low-income area, we have experienced the same things in life. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: Yes, it does so we can relate to each other in the classroom. My students and I have been able to relate to each other on many things. Not just on racism but on life. Students that relate to teachers will open up to teachers and work harder in the classroom than students that don't. Most students that don't have things in common with their teacher will not work for them. I have noticed that when I tell my stories to my students and let them know about my life, they tell me about theirs. Some of my students have gone to my university and pursued chemistry just like I did. You end up helping the students in the long run and start to see them succeeding in life. Aletha is a 2017 TED-Ed Innovative Educator. She is currently working with English Language Learners to create resources for teachers inspired by project-based learning. Follow her on Twitter @alwillia. Years in Education: 4-6 Caucasian Heterosexual Female Senior High School English Teacher Q: What do you have in common with your students? A: My parents divorced when I was 12 and my sister and I were pretty much raised by our Mum. She did a smashing job and while I can honestly say that it never felt like we missed out on anything, I know it wasn't easy for her. We didn't see our dad a lot and he didn't contribute much either financially or emotionally after the divorce. In Australia, nearly 50% of marriages end in divorce, which means many of my students have been through, are going through, or will go through a similar experience. When I was 17, mum began seeing a new man who she later married. I struggled to share mum with him, so it’s fair to say that we didn’t hit it off right away. In fact, I was pretty awful to him for quite a while. But he was (and remains) a kind and patient man. He is indigenous and taught me a lot about prejudice. One summer, during a family beach holiday, I saw first-hand the ugliness of the kind of racism he experiences on a daily basis. We were at the local pub and he was targeted by a couple of young surfers who called him horrible names, which he later told me were derogatory terms used to refer to mixed-race indigenous people. What stood out to me most during the exchange was the strength and dignity he maintained. He stayed calm. He stood tall. He did not yell. He did not fight. I was in awe. In that moment, my eyes were opened. I started to pay more attention to what was going on around me. I began to realise how frequent and insidious these kinds of moments were. I talked to my stepdad about them often and he guided me and helped me to understand the complexities involved. I subsequently spent a lot of time at university learning about Australia’s history of institutionalised and generational racism. I learned about white privilege and started to pay attention to instance of it in my day to day life. Now, as an English teacher, my students and I explore texts that examine themes linked to marginalisation and the “other”. I also refuse to accept even a hint of prejudice in the classroom. Students learn pretty quickly with me that there is no such thing as an innocuous joke. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: I don't think it's necessary for students and teachers to have things in commom. I think it's more important that differences are understood and respected. For me, it's critically important to have a bond and a genuine relationship with all the students I teach. If I relied on commonality to develop those, I feel I (and the students) would be worse off. This is particularly relevant in light of my TED Ed Innovation project this year. The project is based around using various media forms to document the story of our school when it opens in February 2017. It relies on the students involved bringing their unique knowledge, experiences and ideas to the table. The diversity they bring will be reflected in the stories we tell, which is key to capturing and maintaining interest. Christie is a 2017 TED-Ed Innovative Educator. She is leading students in creating a multimedia living documentary of the opening of a new school in Australia. Find out more about Christie's work here and follow her on Twitter @CASimpson. Years in education: 4-6 Asian + Caucasian Heterosexual Female Middle School Math Teacher Q: What do you have in common with your students? A: I am exactly like my students. My students are growing up in an affluent suburb of a larger city. I went to school in the North shore suburbs of Chicago. I would have classified my upbringing as upper middle class much like the students that I teach. I am mixed race, much like many of my students, or at least they are one or the other race. I had the same experiences they had, I hear their stories and I have those same stories. I am just like my students in almost every way. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: I have taught in 3 schools before this school, and I am finally at a school where I find the students the most similar. The first and second schools I taught in, there were major religious sects present, I am not religious. The third school I taught in was a large transient immigrant population and high population of free/reduce lunch students, this is not the kind of school I went to. I find that at the current school I am at, I can relate to my students, and I share their same stories. They say that you teach how you were taught, perhaps I do in some ways, I am always trying to challenge and enrich their thinking versus trying to motivate them to want to learn. They already want to learn, much like I had wanted to. I will never be a good teacher to the students who need motivating; I am not a cheerleader. I will never be a good teacher to those who have had a different upbringing than me; I cannot relate. I believe that for me to be the best teacher I can possibly be, I need to be able to relate to my students; have things in common with them. I love the school that I teach at, probably because this is the kind of school I went to. Follow Regen on Twitter @regenlorden. |
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