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"I don't believe most unsuccessful students are lazy, but I do believe that they have not been exposed to anything that has inspired them. They have not been put in situations where they could see what they might do and become".

We hope that the stories you read and share help open your eyes and our students eyes to see themselves in a different light.

This activity links to chapter 5 of Scott, M. (2017). Even on your worst day you can be a students best hope. Alexandria, VA: ASCD. The chapter is about giving students glipses of their own possibilities. To inspire others to see their potential we are going to share some stories and we would then like you to come up with some stories of your own and post them in your OWN column on the right.

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Response

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This activity is designed to help you learn about each-other in a meaningful way to help you get to know each-other beyond the classroom. This class will push you to collaborate in ways you will likely not have before. To work with a parter, one must know their partner.

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Write your response in this section (that is written in the Write something... sections)

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I got my original teaching certificate in social studies, despite the fact that I was a very accomplished young musician. I knew I wanted to teach, but all the band teachers I ever had (and ever knew) were men. It simply did not occur to  me that I could teach band, I didn't even think to do this.

Then one day,

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When I was about 35, I met a woman who worked as a band director! I could not believe it! I probably annoyed her by asking her all about how she did it, what it was like, etc.

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I have never excelled at something. This is a thought that I constantly believed growing up because I did okay at most things but I was not good at anything. I was a B student and I was able to play most sports but I was just average in most of them. The subjects in school I struggled the most in were math and Spanish and I never saw myself as an expert or someone to be relied on. It wasn't until I was 16 and I had 6 of the 7 carpal bones in my right wrist shattered that I discovered a shift of my self concept. I never saw life as something that I was in control of. I was following the motions without any particular inspiration. This challenge forced me to rethink the norm of expectations and made me fight to learn how to use my left hand to play and excel at tennis. I sucked playing lefty but I worked like hell to get good with it. It wasn't until I had a huge obstacle in my path that I put the effort in to become great at something, and great I was. I trained my left hand for hours every day and worked my way beyond my capabilities with my right hand with tennis.

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I didn't run out to become a band director that day, I sat with the idea for about five years before I dared audition for graduate school. It took that long for me to really believe it was even possible to do this.
Signed, Band Director/Teacher :)

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Something that shifted my self concept happened on my first day in a classroom as a student teacher.
I  was studying Early Childhood Education at Queens College. As part of my student teacher requirement, I visited The Malcolm X Day Care Center in Corona, Queens. As soon as I entered the room, I noticed children were busy in the housekeeping corner. I gravitated towards them to watch them play. I boy wearing dress-up clothes and big tinted sunglasses noticed me and said, "Your green" Then he pulled off the glasses and said, "Your white" He giggled and so did I.
This was the beginning of my career working with children; one that made me aware of who I was and how I wanted to learn as much as teach children of multi-cultures.

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11 years later and I am now a 21st century skills teacher who teaches math IN SPANISH (and English). I turned my two worst subjects into my best subjects because I sucked at them. I have learned that you have to suck at something to get good at it and iteration and failure are essential to the learning process.

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I believe that my experiences enable me to share my story with others to inspire them to challenge the norm. People these days are so afraid of failure and I want people to know its okay to suck at stuff. Its only once we suck that we can choose our next steps.

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In Chapter 5, we learn about the development theory and how we all progress at our own pace.  An interest in any particular topic is  key as well as support to obtain those goals.  When i was younger, I wanted to be a swimmer.  My dad took it upon himself to give me that opportunity.  He built a pool in the garage!  He then bolted a bar with a seatbelt attached to the ceiling and said "Go!".  I could swim for hours and not go anywhere!  Pleased with himself, my father also created paddles for my hands and straps for my legs so I could swim all 4 strokes correctly.  Jist is that someone has to perceive the needs of another and always plays an important role in the shift of that person when applied.

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Although my dad doesn't have degrees, he instilled the importance of education and always learning in me because his father was an educator. My mother received her bachelors degree while juggling, being a wife, a mother of 3, her school work, her job and she did not complain. I knew I was going to college but I didn't know what my focus would be because I thoroughly enjoyed every subject. I'm an art educator now but I never had an art teacher who looked like me, somewhere in my subconscious I knew I wanted to teach, I knew I needed to and I'm so grateful for my journey as a Graphic Design and Art Education background that helps me build rapport with the WP community today.

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My mom was a high school orchestra teacher, so of course that is NOT what I wanted to do when I grew up. However, she always loved teaching and I always considered it a "back pocket" career option, even through much of college when I was doing my music education studies and also pursuing many performing opportunities in various genres. Mr. Jastrow, a mentor that I had during student teaching was making some very simple comments to his class about how much of a privilege it had been to serve his school, be challenged as a musician, and stay connected to the greater Chicago performing arts community as well through his chosen profession. Somehow these comments resonated with me and I was suddenly able to see how rewarding a music education career could be, and how endless the possibilities were within that field for myself and my students to grow and find fulfillment. As a teacher, I now think about how simply sharing appreciation for the most rewarding and human elements of music and of education can model that gratitude for students and inspire them as well.

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I was studying Tea Science (like biology and chemistry but focused on tea trees)in college in China. It's a rare major even in China. What I did in college was mainly doing experiments in lab to study how different factors have different influences on tea trees, tea products and etc. I was not that interested, but I also didn't know what I wanted to do. I decided to come to the U.S. for grad school. I was good at English in college, so I was doing a part-time job as a TA teaching English. I decided to study education and got certified in ENL and Mandarin. I had a hard time looking for a job that could sponsor me because of my visa status. I had doubts about if I really want to be a teacher or if I really want to stay in US. There were times I really missed my parents and friends.
I was lucky enough to get a job in White Plains last year October, when I was about to give up getting a job in NY. And luckily, after these months of teaching, I started to be more sure that I like to pass on what I know, I like to introduce my language and culture to my students and I like to hear what they have to say.
I don't know if I will change my career in the future, but I do know shifting is not scary at all if you make up your mind to do it.

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I have always had difficulty taking a chance in various aspects of my life.  I am not a risk taker by nature.  This story relates to my professional side.  I was working towards the end of my Masters in education and my advisor asked if I had any ideas of where I wanted to do my student teaching.  I did not have any particular district in mind.  All I knew is that I wanted to be someplace where there was more diversity than where I was raised.  She proposed the idea of applying for an internship to two schools....one was a private school dedicated to students with specific learning needs and one was at WPCSD.  I applied and interviewed for both.

I was excited to be accepted into WPCSD and my journey as a teacher started from there.  I continued to substitute teach while looking for a full time job.  An opportunity arose in which instance a teacher at a parochial school asked a teacher in WPCSD if they knew someone looking for a job.  I got a call and I was nervous to say the least, but I interviewed and got the job where I worked for the next 3 years.

I had missed White Plains, but knew I had to branch out from substitute teaching and always had it in the back of my mind to find my way back.  Eventually an opportunity arose and while I was nervous, I applied and was ecstatic to hear I got the job.  At the end of this story, I realize that my journey all started by taking one small chance at something.  Mine just so happened to start with an internship that I didn't foresee going anywhere past the 1 semester as initially intended.

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A shift in my self concept arrived outside of the school setting.  An active goal of my not-for-profit was to have the NYSDOT remove several blacktop piles about two stories in height and each about 20 yards in length.  The spoils piles bordered a creek that fed the Muscoot Reservoir, a part of the NYC reservoir system and a preferred fishing spot.  After refusing to give up by pestering them actively with emails and letters, I turned to embarrassing them at the state level through involving my state senator, legislator as well as NYCDEP.  This seemingly small win has lead to us having a real voice with NYSDOT as well as the locally elected officials. I knew that regular citizens can work within the system and have influence. Other wins have included pedestrian improvements and signage.   At present, we are working with the MTA for the installation of an EV charging site in their parking lot which will offer vehicle charging at a rate that MTA pays for electricity, much less than the average home owner does.

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I had no idea this was even a major! That is so cool. If i was someone who loved science and tea this could totally be something I got into. My eyes have definitely been opened.

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So cool! What an amazing display of creativity, encouragement, and engineering on the part of your dad. Great story!

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Your mom rocks, Natalie. :)

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My oh my, Science and Tea; extraordinary. Welcome to White Plains!

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Thanks for sharing this! So glad you changed your mind about teaching!

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Zach, we need more people to share what is rewarding with their jobs. It is too easy to focus on the negative and when we focus on that, less people get interested in that profession. The simple truth is that in education we need to pull more like-minded talented individuals in so that we can help shape the direction of education in the 21st century. Knowing that the sharing your teacher did helped influence you opens my eyes to try and share with my own students.

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After years of disapproval and "spinning in the mud," I finally have the approval to move forward with my intended research for IRB application for my doctoral work. For years, I blame institutional bias, lack of support or preparation, etc. However, I knew that I was able... My faith and will power keep me going, and I knew that failure or giving up was very an option. Ten years later, I am on my way...

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After years of disapproval and "spinning in the mud," I finally have the approval to move forward with my intended research for IRB application for my doctoral work. For years, I blame institutional bias, lack of support or preparation, etc. However, I knew that I was able... My faith and will power keep me going, and I knew that failure or giving up was very an option. Ten years later, I am on my way...

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Woo hoo! Your perseverance is inspiring.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZlXWp6vFdE
Awesome video of perseverance

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Awesome! I'm glad people like you are out there bringing about positive changes!

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Thanks for sharing Monica! This just goes to show the power of taking a risk. Most great opportunities and inventions would not exist without taking leaps of faith.