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Being in a classroom excites me. It excites me to decorate it in pastel hues and make like-minded friends to ease my blues. It excites me to interact with people every day and how exciting is it that I get to offer reading and literature and grammar lessons in forms of play. It excites me to know that I am making a difference- at some point on some day in someone's life.
To successfully do this, I must reflect and understand who I am and why I came to be this version of myself. This version of myself has been forged in fire and came out stronger. This version of myself felt the heat of pain, rejection, fear, and turned it into softness towards others. I am capable because of my lived experiences, and they all work at once, every single day, to allow me to become the best educator I can be.

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When I was a student, I hated community building activities. I dreaded the "what did you do over the summer" or "name. major. year" in college. However, I love these opportunities as an educator. It gives me something to latch on to, and something for peers to learn and connect with about one another. I will be moving seats, groups, and implementing these activities all year long to build a deeper sense of community

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My expectations for students will be rigorous and synonymous-- allowing room for modification and accommodations but regardless still rigorous for each students. I believe in the capability of each student and want them to know that they can and will do hard things.

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As an English educator, I want to offer readings and content from a spectrum of individuals. This means exposing them to a wide variety of cultures and world-views. I firmly believe that representation matters and being able to show my future students that they are seen and noticed and valid will be a huge step towards an inclusive and inviting classroom.

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Firstly, to create an inclusive classroom I need to rely on the work I have done in college and therapy to remove the inner biases in my life. There is 0 room for hate speech regarding any differences like race, ability, socioeconomic status, religion, and so on. We all have different lived experiences and I want to honor each one.

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Creating an inclusive and inviting classroom

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Creating an inclusive and inviting classroom

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One goal at the forefront of my mind is creating a classroom where students are able to exist safely-- where others approach one another with ideas of tolerance and respect.

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If you've been on social media over the past year, you'll most likely have seen the wave of gentle parenting taking over. This term is a catch-all for parents who treat children like "tiny humans," i.e. respect their emotions and guide them through times of learning instead of trying to control them. Being young, I have dealt with my fair share of existing under another's assumptions. People often forget that children are people too. People that will eventually grow up into adults and need the social/emotional skills to maneuver through life on their own. Since I have felt the weight of distrust and disrespect, I will work to encourage the autonomy of oneself in the classroom while validating appropriate emotions.

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As an individual who identifies as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, I believe that this social identity can strengthen my connection with diverse students who may not otherwise feel acceptance outside of the classroom. I have experienced walking through campus, holding hands publicly with a female, and getting yelled at. My girlfriend is one of the most kindhearted people I have ever met, but that did not stop people from being brutally inappropriate to her and us. I have felt the otherness in this identity, and once again work every day to prevent my students from feeling as though their identities are not accepted-- because they are.

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As a woman, it has been very clear since birth that society, and many people, see women as things to be small and sexy. Nearly inhuman-- vessels for pleasure or motherhood. I have dealt with seeing men be paid more, chosen more, and earning more rights merely by existing. Having these experiences will strengthen my ability in the classroom to strive for equity and equality across all individuals because I never want anyone to see and feel those feelings of lesser than in that way.

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Who I am internally affects who I become as an educator because my social identities are the culmination of all the experiences I have gone through. Being a woman, being a member of the LGBTQ community, and young are different factors that have built me into the person I am today

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For the kids that I loved when I worked at the daycare when I was 18

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Because students remember us-- and we remember them

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Because I am capable

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Because of the kids I cadet taught at 17

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Because of the kids I cadet taught for when I was 16

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Because amazing educators believe in me

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Sophie Freeman. Ms. Freeman. Soph.