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.
1 Comment
Regen Lorden
5/4/2022 08:45:49 pm
When I see that picture of myself and those words attached, I don’t even recognize that person anymore. I am saddened by my own words because of how far I have come, who I am today and how I hope to continue to grow in the future. In my early years of teaching, I struggled to find who I was, what kind of teacher I was, or how I could use my race to support colleagues and students. I have taught many students over the subsequent years and faced many challenges as a teacher. I have learned to persevere and adapt to many different environments and know now that I can thrive as a teacher in any circumstance. Teaching students from all backgrounds has given me perspective to guide my lessons in a more inclusive and responsive way such as multiple access points and the use of standards based grading to ensure all students have the ability to be successful. I embrace new challenges and strive to learn about the differences I have from my students and colleagues. I have grown as a teacher and hope that these words above are no longer associated with me and what I believe in.
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