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This lesson was one that I felt proud of, because students were engaged and I felt like they were with me for the entirety of the lesson. I thought hard about differentiation and student choice, and I felt like it made a significant impact on the success of the lesson. I felt like students really grasped the learning target and content objectives and it was one of the first times I felt like I had a really cohesive and full lesson.

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C.  Danielson 2c:  Managing Classroom Procedures CONTINUED

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C.  Danielson 2c:  Managing Classroom Procedures CONTINUED

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Entry procedure chart that was inspired by my colleague's.

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B. Danielson 2a:  Classroom Climate CONTINUED

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B. Danielson 2a:  Classroom Climate CONTINUED

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Here is an example of classroom values (also alongside class-generated community agreements). Students analyzed each value and contributed what they thought behaviors related to each value would look like in the classroom, as well as things they commonly associated with each value. This was one of my favorite activities.

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A.  Danielson 1b Knowledge of Learners in Approach to Content Planning - CONTINUED

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A.  Danielson 1b Knowledge of Learners in Approach to Content Planning - CONTINUED

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Identity maps! These were a great way to begin understanding what elements of my students' identities were most important to them. Many teachers in my school begin the school year with this activity (or one like it). Identity in the context of the academic subject is the first unit for most classes.

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Students hard at work during this lesson

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Students hard at work during this lesson

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Teaching in Action: Readings for Lesson (choice 2)

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Teaching in Action: Readings for Lesson (choice 2)

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Teaching in Action: Readings for Lesson (choice 1)

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Teaching in Action: Readings for Lesson (choice 1)

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Crash by Jerry Spinelli (Aha Moment Excerpt) (1)

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C. Danielson 2c:  Managing Classroom Procedures

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C. Danielson 2c:  Managing Classroom Procedures

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One of my colleagues' entry procedure. This is a 7th grade science class. This anchor chart solidifies how students should begin the period every day. I modeled my own class' entry procedure after this one.

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This is a photo of a bulletin board of an 8th grade math class. It is a good example of a positive classroom climate because it is a place students can express their hopes and anxieties. This is especially important in a math class, as many students in our school community have shared that they are anxious about their math skills.

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A. Danielson 1b: Knowledge of Learners in Approach to Content Planning

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A. Danielson 1b: Knowledge of Learners in Approach to Content Planning

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This is an example of an activity we did in my self contained classroom to get to know students. They had to choose one (or several) places that they were from and draw the symbols they associated with that place.

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Teaching Statement (this photo is from my first day of work. Yes, this is a timed bathroom selfie)

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Teaching Statement (this photo is from my first day of work. Yes, this is a timed bathroom selfie)

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I grew up in a housing project located in lower Manhattan, in a big family that barely fit in our three bedroom apartment. I had an extremely strong sense of community and personal identity from a very young age. For a long time I thought that might have been intrinsic to me. But after nearly half a year of teaching and turning pedagogy over in my head and practice, I see how much of the way I self identified was a product of really good teachers. I had teachers who told me I was smart, who told me I was a good writer, who reminded me that even the questions that poured from my confusion were a vital part of learning. Some parts of myself would have came to be regardless of whose classrooms I came up in. But some parts of me are, because they told me they could be. They, being teachers.
This reflection is foundational to why I became a teacher. If I can impart even the smallest part of this experience on a student, it is wholly worth the long nights and stress. Even when its hard, it is really wonderful. I feel exhausted, but still full to the brim and grateful every day to get to do what I do.

Public education saved my life. My journey in education has been full of mountains and valleys, peaks and summits. I have been a high school drop out, a student who earned a full ride scholarship to college, a community college student, and a graduate student and scholar who graduated with honors. But it has never been linear. I think that is something valuable to share with students. You don’t have to move in a straight and neat line to get where you’re meant to be. And where you think you’ve been told you’re meant to be, can be remade and revised with a little imagination and elbow grease. This is especially true for students of color, students born into poverty, students traversing hoods in this city and every other.