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.
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Years in Education: 16-20 Latino Heterosexual Male Former High School History Teacher District Technology Facilitator Q: What do you have in common with your students? A: I grew up in Union City, New Jersey where I have worked in schools for the last 16 years. I started as a classroom history teacher and eventually became a tech facilitator for the District. Union City is a predominantly Latino community. There are many things I share with my students like food, language, folk lore, idioms and so on, due to the fact that I'm Latino myself and also grew up in this same community. Being that Union City is an urban community, we also share some common evils. When I was a student, I also experienced poverty, drugs, gangs and other negative things. I still clearly remember walking to and from school and seeing these evils in the streets and corners. I can relate to students' peer pressures, family pressures, dealing with poverty, and dreaming of one day getting out. I can sit with troubled kids and talk about some of the things they see on their end. This really opens up my relationships with my students because I'm not seen as an outsider or another un-relateable adult. I can also relate to their hopes, dreams, motivation and needs. I can plant seeds of bigger dreams, bigger aspirations, and life outside of Union City. I always talk about the benefits of living in our community as well. I try to show them that they have the opportunity of an academic education, but they also a street smarts that they learned from hard knock lessons. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: Having common ground allows for teacher and students to jump into getting down to work quicker. No need for a long transition phase or a “getting to know” sessions. Being from the same community allows me to come to class with an understanding of what our students experience and see every day. This allows for a more pleasant work flow and space. Walls are instantly tore down when teacher and students share common things. Marcos is a 2017 TED-Ed Innovative Educator. He is a leader in the makerspace movement. To learn more about what Marcos is doing to facilitate hands-on student creativity and leadership, follow him on Twitter @mrnavas. 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: 7-10 Pakistani Heterosexual Male Urdu Language, Culture of Pakistan, Sociology Teacher Q: What do you have in common with your students? A: When I start teaching a new group of students I dedicate the first session for ice breaking activities. In the introductions, when I get an answer I respond to that and have some little chat about it. For example, when talking about last book we have read, I will engage in discussion about the storyline or characters of the book and compare it with a character I like, or story I have read. So I intentionally try to create commonalities with my students. Once I was in the girls school in my maternal village and I wanted to discuss with them few important things but students were not opening up. So I started sharing with them that my mother was born in this village and she could only go up to grade 5 because the school in the village did not offer higher classes and her parent could not afford to send my mother to the nearby city. This created a commonality which was needed. Another important thing for finding the common things is that I always consider that the students sitting in front of me are human beings like myself and if for some reason they are not performing well in class I always keep that in mind that they might be facing a challenge in life outside class. Students are not learning machines. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: Finding common grounds is perhaps the start of journey which teachers and students embark on. I have seen it in many cases that if students and teachers do not have things in common then the students will not open up. If the wall of unfamiliarity is taken down between the two parties then learning expedites. In Pakistan, I was dealing with a group of young learners who were particularly fond of the sport of cricket. I was trying very hard but they were not responding. When I found out that they all love cricket and I myself was a cricket player, then I started bringing examples from cricketing world. I started using names of cricket players in the lessons and brought in cricketing scenarios and it worked so well. From that point onward the students always waited for my class. Once in America I was teaching Urdu as a foreign language and the class was not very lively. I learned a game 'Simon says...' which my students knew and made a translated version of it in the Urdu language and the barrier broke. Everybody loved it. So yes, it matters. Umar is a 2017 TED-Ed Innovative Educator. He is currently working with the University of California, Berkeley's study abroad program in Pakistan. 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: 20+ Cuban-American Heterosexual Male First in family to graduate from college Middle School Science & Technology Teacher Q: What do you have in common with your students? A: When I started teaching in South Central Los Angeles back in 1991, I was a young Hispanic heterosexual male in a female dominated profession. Frankly, that never was an issue to me because I was raised by my mother. My father wasn't present so I was used to being around women. Teaching in L.A. was within my comfort zone because my school was 85% Hispanic and almost 15% African American. The staff I worked with in L.A. was quite diverse too. We had a Cuban-American teacher (me), a couple of Mexican-American teachers, a Panamanian-American teacher, several African American teachers, and a few Caucasian teachers! And three teachers on staff were homosexual. A great team to work with. I started teaching mixed classes of beginning English speakers to English-Only speakers. Because I could speak Spanish I moved to teaching full classes of beginning English speakers so my classes were made up of 100% Hispanic kids. I had Mexican, Salvadoran, Nicaraguan, and Guatemalen students! Back then California had a full bilingual program so that kids could learn in their native language while increasing their English learning as they progressed instead of hearing English all the time and learning what they could. When my wife and I moved to Washington, I left my Hispanic kids and moved to a rural town teaching kids that were predominantly Caucasian. It was a culture shock! While I do miss teaching Hispanic kids, I do enjoy working with the kids in my community. I live right across the street from my rural school now so I’m not just their teacher, I’m neighbor to many of my students. And I’ve been here for 20 years! I never speak Spanish anymore though. I barely remember my native tongue. I’m so Americanized that I don’t even remember what it was like being Cuban. Part of me has always thought that I am so American because I grew up in Miami. But I really didn’t. In Miami, I grew up Cuban in America. My elementary school and junior high school were both predominantly Hispanic (mostly Cuban) and African American. Now, I am all American. I’ll have to remedy that someday. I just don’t know how. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: I think teachers and students having things in common matters. My own daughter admitted that her favorite teacher in 7th grade was the youngest teacher on the staff. It was my daughter who told me that she really liked that teacher because she was, "relevant." That's where I got that from because until my daughter said that to me, I didn't know the generation gap was a thing. Until my daughter mentioned relevancy, I didn't realize how much kids appreciate having teachers that they can relate to. I try to relate to my students by learning about the things they like. I have always enjoyed talking to my students about things they like. It makes school more of a family setting and less of a job. Plus, it keeps me current. I am 49 years old, almost 50. When I started teaching in grades 4 and 5 I was 24 years old. At that time I felt that I was still relevant to my students because I was young enough to understand their pop culture such as music and TV shows. Fast forward to 2017 and I'm seeing the generation gap between me and my students more and more. I refer to things such as 9/11 and have to back up and explain because of all the blank stares I get. Luckily, I'm young enough at heart to listen to some music that middle school students listen to, I watch TV shows and movies that middle school students watch, and I try to keep up with sports so when they talk about it I can converse. I am a geek at heart, a big fan of Star Trek and Star Wars, so I have quite a bit in common with my fellow geeky students. I'm also a user of social media and technology so I can connect with students who also use those. So while the generation gap is WIDE and very REAL I find ways to stay current while not being creepy, like saying, "tots cray cray." Yes, I've tried saying it and let's just say it didn't work! So now I work extra hard to connect with my students. My daughter and my students are my connection to the current generation. Reading about Gen Z is just not enough, you have to connect with Gen Z kids. Al is a 2017 Washington State Teacher Leader. Follow him on Twitter @educatoral. 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. Years in education: 11-15 Caucasian Heterosexual Female Language Arts, History, Drama Teacher Q: What do you have in common with your students? A: My students are diverse, however poverty and broken families are the norm in our community. When I was the age that my students are now, I experienced abuse, neglect, a broken family and extreme poverty. This helps me understand their motivations and behaviors. Additionally, for a time as an adult, I was a homeless, unemployed, single parent on assistance. Generational poverty is something my students and I have in common. My path to becoming an academic was unusual and later in life. I know what it is like to be an unmotivated student without future plan. I know that it is never too late to change your path. On a lighter note, I am a big fan of science fiction, fantasy and superheroes, just like many of my students. Also, I promote the arts in our district and community - theatre, visual arts and music. This is a great way to find common ground with students of diverse backgrounds. Finally, I am a horse person, and ours is a rural community. Lots of kids, of all economic backgrounds have large animals to tend. We have pastures, barns, mud and manure in common! Culturally speaking, through marriage I have ties to a family of Mexican heritage. In our small community, it is easy for my Hispanic students to know my husband's father is Mexican, which often makes me an immediate ally. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: It matters- so, so much. Relationships are at the heart of all learning. When students trust and respect you, when they know that you trust and respect them, they are far more likely to buy into the lessons you teach. When you know them, really know them, you can integrate their culture and their interests into the content, personalizing their experience. For me, understanding the lasting effects of poverty and upheaval in a young person's life helps me accept students with all of their rough edges. I can recognize when a big attitude is worn like armor to protect a vulnerable soul from more hurt. I know to give students the time, space and respect they need to keep their pride as they gain the skills to organize the chaos of their lives. They get as much or as little support from me as they want. They know I am tough and expect their best, but they also know that they can rely on me to support and comfort them as needed. Most importantly, they trust that I won't give up on them, no matter what. Lynne is a 2017 Washington State Teacher leader and was a 2012 Regional Teacher of the Year. Follow her on Twitter @LynneOlmos. |
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