For the Love of Literacy

Flexibility. A term that each and every teacher must learn to become comfortable with.

When we decided to move back to Nashville last year I had quite a few things to consider. Where should I work? Do I want to continue at a high school or enter into a middle school? What grade level will I teach? It didn't take long for me to find and interview at a school on the west side of the city. Before I knew it, I was hired! I was excited, and a little nervous, when I found out that I would be teaching fifth grade ELA for the first time.

As the spring months went on, I didn't hear much from my new school. As a matter of fact, it wasn't until mid June when I got a message that made my stomach do a little twist. The principal that hired me would be moving on to work with another sector of the district. This was great news! What wasn't great news? The new master schedule that the team had created actually placed me in a social studies class.

Me? A social studies teacher? Flexibility, I remind myself.

Fast forward to December 1st. I am the seventh grade social studies teacher of a beautiful middle school in Nashville. I am teaching world history for the first time. I am learning so much, and I am growing tremendously each day. I don't know much about world history, but I have found that the easiest way for this thing to happen is through literacy and stories. My students sometimes complain that they have two English classes: ELA and social studies. To me, this is music to my ears! We are growing together each day and for many of us, we are exploring world history through a new lens. We read, we write, and we discuss. Everyday.

The ELA teacher walks up to me on a chilly afternoon as we watch our students run around and play basketball during physical activity time. He looks at me and says something like, "our students.. they grew. A lot. Like 187% growth from the fall to now." This is insane! How?! The answer is simple: we teach literacy. Without ever really planning together, we are both focusing on the skills that students need to be successful, regardless of the content area.

While I may have been scared at the beginning of the year, I am finding that this isn't much different. What you will find over the course of the rest of the school year are some new resources that I have been using in class. The first thing that I posted to my TPT store is a medieval Africa concept sort. I am still learning, but I hope that you find some use in the items that I am creating and sharing with my students. As always, if you have suggestions or requests, I would love to hear them!

Here's the newbie: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Medieval-Africa-Word-Sort-Introduction-Activity-3547719

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Why I Chose To Stay

How often in our lives do we actually take a step in faith and pursue the plan that our passions are pulling us toward?

At just twenty-six years old I have had the opportunity to act as a resident principal of a successful and complex PreK-8 school in Cleveland, Ohio for the course of an entire school year. I beat out over two hundred applicants and made it into a leadership cohort of just ten. During this time I have grown both personally and professionally. I have led professional development, coached teachers, made difficult decisions for an entire school building, and presented to important people across the city. People look at me in amazement when I shake their hand, stand tall, and mention that I am just twenty-six years old. (I may have accidentally lied to my staff about this one small detail.. sorry, y'all!) I have the opportunity to lead a school of my own in August, but I don't want to.

You see, I have taught students in grades six through nine in various cities. I have had the privilege of watching students surpass two reading levels in one year, stand up to people that didn't believe in their abilities, create change within a community, and quote Shakespeare. And though these may seem like little things to you, they are the exact reason why I want to go back into the classroom.

The decision to resume the role of a teacher was not an easy one for me to make. Well, I lied.. it was actually incredibly simply, but telling my family and friends took courage. It seems like people outside of the education world have a difficult time understanding the unique joy a teacher can feel. While some members were supportive, others could not understand why I would want to leave such a coveted role for lower pay and less respect. So I decided to come up with a few reasons why I would want to do such a crazy thing:

1. You can walk into work on the worst day ever and just the smallest interaction with a child in your classroom can turn that around. 
2. The role of a teacher is to facilitate learning for students, but you would be shocked at just how much you can learn from your students. 
3. Teaching is fun and exciting! In what other profession can you stand on chairs and have students debate whether or not someone committed a crime? (Think "To Kill a Mockingbird" and the Seriel podcast all rolled into one unit plan!)
4. There is no greater joy than seeing a student truly understand and master content. You can actually see it in their face. 
5. Kids are so funny! They keep me up to date on just about everything that I need to know in today's world and the evolution of our language.
6. Teaching allows you to live with purpose. I wake up every single day and I know that my life has meaning. 

So why am I going back into the classroom? I'm going back because I truly believe that every single child has a right to an excellent education, and I want to be on the front lines making that happen. Because I love teaching tiny people ways to navigate through this crazy world via both content and life lessons. I will unapologetically advocate for all students, regardless of zip code or race. I will fight for our students, and I will equip them with the necessary skills so that they can then advocate for themselves. I am taking my step in faith to pursue the role that God has created for me, and I'm not going to let a silly thing like salary get in my way.

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