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A Quote from the Reading that Resonated with Me

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A Quote from the Reading that Resonated with Me

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One quote that really stood out to me was from Parker Palmer’s The Heart of a Teacher: “Good teaching cannot be reduced to technique; good teaching comes from the identity and integrity of the teacher” (Palmer, 1997, p. 2). I connected to this because it reminded me that teaching isn’t just about following lesson plans or trying to apply the latest strategies, it’s about who I am in front of my students. Students notice when a teacher is genuine and invested, and that has more impact than any method alone.

This resonated with me on a personal level because, in my own experience working with students, I’ve seen how much they respond to authenticity. When I bring my real self into the classroom, whether that’s showing excitement about a story we’re reading or being honest about something I don’t know, they engage with me more. Palmer’s words challenge the idea that there’s only one “right” way to teach and instead highlight the importance of teaching from a place of self-knowledge and integrity. It reassures me that my presence and values matter just as much as the strategies I use.

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One of the opening activities I plan to use with my students is a goal-setting project that ties into our classroom’s under-the-sea theme. Each student will receive a large real-life seashell and will write one personal goal they have for the school year on it. They’ll then have the chance to decorate their seashell using art supplies, making it unique to them. Once they are complete, we’ll display the decorated seashells together on a bulletin board, creating a “sea of goals” that brightens our room and reminds us of what we’re working toward throughout the year.

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One quote from the readings that resonated with me is 

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One quote from the readings that resonated with me is 

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“I want them to do what needs to be done- again and again- to achieve teaching as an enterprise whose largest purpose is to help every human being reach the full measure of his or her humanity. Teaching as humanization, teaching as a project whose irreducible goal is both further enlightenment for each and greater freedom for all—this is the priceless ideal I want beginning teachers to focus on.” (Ayers, 2006; pg. 270-71)

This quote reaffirms an often-forgotten purpose of teaching: that teaching is more than covering standards or delivering content. Ayer reminds us that education is a humanizing project. Its purpose is to nurture students’ growth, curiosity, and dignity, not just prepare them for tests or compliance. For teachers, this is both an inspiration and a wake-up call. This quote highlights the transformative power of teaching; every lesson can affirm students’ potential and sense of worth. It encourages us as teachers to look beyond behavior management and deficits, and to create spaces where students can explore who they are, what they care about, and how they can engage with the world. This quote really resonated with me while reading Ayer’s The Hope and Practice of Teaching, because it captures why many teachers like me enter the profession in the first place: to help students grow into thoughtful, capable, and compassionate people. It’s a reminder that teaching is not just about academics but about shaping lives.

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One activity/lesson/icebreaker I plan to do with my students this week is

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One activity/lesson/icebreaker I plan to do with my students this week is

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A first-day questionnaire/interest survey similar to the "first day questions" on the Padlet resource tab. As a co-teacher, I discussed activities for the first day with my lead teacher, and both of us agreed that an interest survey with writing prompts would not only give us a glimpse into the students' lives/interests but also allow us to examine their writing/English literacy skills. We will then use these surveys to get to know our students better throughout the week and also adjust/change our unit lesson plans to address specific student needs.

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1. An icebreaker we plan to do in class is a ball toss - name game. With the class in a circle, everyone says their names. Next you call a name and toss them the ball going around the circle until everyone has been included. A few times around and hopefully the names sink in!

Will follow up with a survey of interests - favorite food, animal, game, etc.

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An opening day activity that I plan to do with my students is one that I learned from my coach over the summer. One student would start by stating their name and something the like to do, the next student will do the same while also repeating what the student prior said. This process continues until the last student goes and is able to state everyones name and hobbies.

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The inadequacy of the label "English Language Learner"

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The inadequacy of the label "English Language Learner"

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In Ch. 1 of Who are English Language Learners?, while unpacking the label "English Language Learner," Wright asks poignantly, "[A]ren't 'native' English speakers also continuing their English language development?" (Wright, 2015, p. 5) I nearly laughed out loud in the way you only do when you're astounded. Yes! There is no better way to remove the stigma attached to a label than by signaling how arbitrary it is. In the same article, Wright challenges the notion that ELLs are part of some monolithic wave of first-generation immigrants from two or three major countries (see the link). Wright helped me recognize ENL students as wholly unique human beings with paths and stories that are ready to enrich the classroom—if we as teachers can provide the right conditions.

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Largest U.S. Immigrant Groups over Time, 1960-Present

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While the U.S. immigrant population is diverse, just a few countries of origin make up a large share of the total. This pie chart series shows which countries had the largest immigrant populations at various time periods between 1960 and 2018 (use the slider to select different years).

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My new co-teacher swears by this opening-day activity that gamifies the getting-to-know-you phase of the first days. Our 10th and 11th graders will be writing their own set of four statements (one of them untrue) for all of us to guess at. There is competition, revelation, writing, speaking, sharing, all in one devious bundle.

See if you can pick out my lie...

I coach my son’s and daughter’s soccer teams.

I once worked as a newspaper journalist.

I grew up in California.

I can speak five different languages fluently.

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2. From Palmer's The Heart of a Teacher:

"Authority comes as I reclaim my identity and integrity, remembering my selfhood and my sense of vocation. Then teaching can come from the depths of my own truth—and the truth that is within my students has a chance to respond in kind."

This resonated with me for a couple of reasons:

1 I can't wrap my head around "classroom management" and "control". I don't know how to do it. It seems to me that it will happen organically out of the relationships that develop in the classroom and I don't know how to impose on that. So his suggestion that authority comes from being authentic is liberating and also something to which I can relate.

2 This was an element of his argument that there is no right way to teach - other than teaching as yourself. After this summer I feel that I have been showered with techniques, but my experience in the classroom was that it was all about connecting with the students as a person... So I read this as "permission" to teach as myself - and that will be "effective".

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This week our school's SEL focus is on students knowing themselves, each other, and being able to find connections and similarities amongst themselves. We have done two different 'All About Me' activities that ask the students, for example, who are their heroes, what do they want to do when they grow up, and what are their favorite activities/subjects/movies/books. Somewhat naturally, the students began to share with each other what their favorite things are and find things in common. Many of them want to be famous YouTube gamers, love reading Captain Underpants, and enjoy scary movies.

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"But, yes, do speak the truth as you see and understand it to power, find allies, and act on what the known demands. In your classroom as in your life, what you do

out of generosity and mutual love will be mostly the right thing to do." (Ayers 2006)

This quote stuck out to me because it succinctly captures the main points of the Ayers reading, and it feels extra relevant to my experience teaching so far. I have been focusing a lot of my effort so far on finding allies - both allies who are other teachers who can help provide feedback and support, but also student allies who will be good leaders and encourage other students to get involved in learning. I've always been one to speak truth to power, so I'm excited to be in a profession where that is valued. I know this can be tricky when the "power" is the administration or other teachers, but sometimes it may be necessary. The focus on "act on what the known demands" is a bit reassuring to me, because right now my school is running on an alternate schedule until September 11, and I still don't know my classes or students or co-teachers for certain, so there's a lot of unknown. However, this quote reminds me to focus on the known, and what it demands of me. Lastly, I like the way the last sentence emphasizes generosity and mutual love. There are a lot of behavioral problems at my school, and a lot of teachers are clearly fed up with the students. I'm trying to find a way to balance this frustration with still seeing the students' full three dimensional humanity like this reading says, and I think reminding myself to act out of generosity and mutual love will be important.

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I plan to do a game of "would you rather" with my students. I've also heard this be called "this or that." This game was included in the Edutopia article "First week of high school activities," but I also played it recently with the other fellows in my Teaching Academy over the summer. The teacher reads a sentence like "Would you rather never be able to go to the beach, or never be able to go to the mountains again?" And students either move to the "beach" side of the room, or the "mountains" side of the room. When we did this game, I thought it was a nice way to get to know people because it was physical, it allowed me to have small conversations with many people (whoever ended up next to me), and it allowed me to express stuff that's important to me and also take note of what other people care about. I would probably mix up silly would you rather questions with questions that lightly touch on students' interests and values. This activity will be good for my students because they have a lot of energy and moving around can be an appropriate outlet for that. They're also shy and hesitant to participate, so giving them questions with only two answers, that they can answer by moving instead of speaking, might help them open up.

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A quote that stood out to me comes from Parker Palmer's "The Heart of a Teacher": "we [teachers] meet as fellow travelers and offer encouragement to each other in this demanding but deeply rewarding journey across the inner landscape of education—calling each other back to the identity and integrity that animate all good work, not least the work called teaching." This quote reminds me of how important our fellow teachers and community members are for keeping us aligned with our true values and personal missions along this path of education. If we are open and genuine about our fears as well as our hopes, we can create a community that supports each other in our authentic integrity along the way to creating classrooms and teaching practices that align deeply with who we really are, what we care about, and how we can encourage the students around us to grow in their own ways. By opening ourselves up to being honest with one another, we create opportunities to be held accountable and supported in our journeys.

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A quote from The Hope and Practice of Teaching that resonated with me was "We need to understand that teaching requires thoughtful, caring people to carry it forward successfully, and we need, then, to commit to becoming more caring and more thoughtful as we grow into our work." (Ayers, 2006). This stood out to me because it emphasizes the importance of not just delivering content but of empathy and reflection. Students spend about 35 hours a week in the classroom and as teacher we should ensure that during that time they feel safe and seen. We must also remember that there is always something new to be learned and areas to grow in, therefore we should always be opened to making adjustments in our approach to teaching.

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This past week, I planned a few different opening activities and icebreakers to complete with my fourth grade students. On the first day of school, I had my students create name tags with their preferred name and drawings that represented their summer break. Then, we all shared our name tags to introduce ourselves and share about our summers. Once everyone introduced themselves, I planned for the class to complete a "get to know you" bingo, where students had to collect signatures from each other based on fun facts ("has a family pet," "went to the beach this summer," "plays an instrument," etc). Finally, I asked students to complete and then decorate an "all about me" worksheet in English and Spanish (my students are all Spanish-speaking). The worksheet is in the shape of a pennant, and I'm planning to cut them out and hang them around the room to decorate. I think all of these activities were successful in helping my students begin to feel comfortable with each other and with me!

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Quote from "The Heart of a Teacher: Identity and Integrity in Teaching"

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Quote from "The Heart of a Teacher: Identity and Integrity in Teaching"

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Palmer (1997) cautions teachers against losing their heart, delivering the warning that “to reduce our vulnerability, we disconnect from students, from subjects, and even from ourselves. We build a wall between inner truth and outer performance, and we play-act the teacher’s part. Our words, spoken at remove from our hearts, become ‘the balloon speech in cartoons,’ and we become caricatures of ourselves. We distance ourselves from students and subject to minimize the danger—forgetting that distance makes life more dangerous still by isolating the self” (p. 9). This quote resonated with me because I have quickly learned how intertwined vulnerability is with teaching, even in the short time I have been a teacher. It is incredibly intimidating, especially as a new teacher, to stand in front of a room of students (at any age) and to ask for their respect, attention, and excited engagement. Truly, vulnerability is at the forefront of this experience, and it is easy to personalize the obstacles you can encounter on this journey. Understanding this, I am inclined to heed Palmer’s advice that we must be careful to not bury our vulnerability by “play-act[ing] the teacher’s part,” even if this seems safer. I can understand the temptation to “become a caricature,” as this makes it easier to brush off disengaged students, critical administrators, or hurtful feedback as belonging to some removed role we play as teachers, rather than who we fundamentally are. I appreciate Palmer’s reminder that this is not safe path that we think it is. Indeed, he argues that the best teachers are those who remain true to themselves and practice vulnerability. I imagine, too, that embracing this level of authenticity results in students who are more engaged and lessons which feel more animated and true to oneself. As I embark on this journey as a first-year teacher, I want to hold onto this advice and to continue to explore ways to show up genuinely in my classroom, even when it may feel easier to hide behind the shield of performance.

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For my first classes with my eighth grade students, I asked them to complete a survey similar to the one on the resources padlet. Because the majority of the students have been in the same class together for two years already, I felt that it was more important for me to get to know them than for them to get to know one another. From the survey, I learned about their home languages, interests, and strengths and provided a place for them to share any other information they wanted me to know about them. It also helped me to get a sense of the language and writing skills of the ELLs and non-ELLs alike.

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I was particularly struck by Jamilah Pitts's assertion in "Don't Say Nothing" that "students pay attention to everything we say and do. They particularly pay attention to our silence." Often times teachers may have very different identities, circumstances, and life experiences than their students, especially when working in ENL. This is often the case for me due to my language, race, class background, and my family's immigration background. This quote resonated with me because it reminded me that keeping silent in class about topics like race, wealth, identity, immigration, and more will make students feel unsafe to bring their full selves to class. This connects to what Palmer was articulating about creating connections between students, teachers, and content. Students need the opportunities and encouragement to connect content with their own identities and experiences and as their teacher, it is important for me to learn from my students, welcome their thoughts and perspectives on topics that may be fraught to some, and reflect on how I bring my own identities into the classroom.

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My original plan was to have the students engage in an interview activity based on a Favorite Things Questionnaire, but I really like the First Day Questionnaire with a writing prompt. I may shorten the favorite things interview so the students can have time to work on the First Day Questionnaire. It's nice having an abundance of choices! Thanks for the additional resources.

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“Teaching as humanization, teaching as a project whose irreducible goal is both further enlightenment for each and greater freedom for all—this is the priceless ideal I want beginning teachers to focus on.” (Ayers,  2006, p. 271) This quote resonates with me because I like the concept of teaching as humanization. I want all of my students to feel seen, heard, and celebrated. My hope is that they will be eager to learn from not only from my instruction, but from their fellow students as well. I’m a big fan of collaborative efforts, so I’m looking forward to getting to know my students in order to facilitate their learning needs, but first things first is for everyone to get know each other and grow from there.

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One quote from The Hope and Practice of Teaching article that really resonated with me was teaching's "largest purpose is to help every human being reach the full measure of his or her humanity" because I believe teaching is just that important -- though I know it is often not regarded with the gravity that it deserves. Education is what empowers people to do great things and to better their life experience, thus allowing them to positively impact others in the world.

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One activity I plan to use with my students this week is an icebreaker name game that I learned from another teacher at my school. Each student has to choose an adjective that represents them in some way and starts in the same letter as their first name. So for example, I might be Enthusiastic Elissa, Preston might name himself Peaceful Preston. The students all introduce themselves and their "new names" and then we pass the mic and play until everyone learns each others name without mistake. This has is a great way to have fun with vocabulary, parts of speech, and comradery within the classroom.

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I think for my first lesson plan and working with students for the first time this coming week, I want to start on a very basic level of really focusing on building comfort and familiarity with the classroom environment, co-creasing and establishing clear classroom norms and routines, and learning about my students from not only the academic but personal vantage point in ways which can help inform my understanding of and pedagogical practice with these students over the course of this academic year. To start this lesson, Iw ant to use labels and name tags at desks to get students names in wiring and Goa round in a circle asking each student for their name, I also want to use a few pages from a book titled "All About Me" to conduct my first lesson plan where I will read with students about different talents, aspirations, and interests our character could have, then open the floor up to having students share a bit about themselves through a handout that is similarly focused on "All About Me," ending this lesson with a share-out with teh class from students who are comfortable with this. I am still trying to figure out how exactly, but I will also want to include a section or opportunity either during or after these components to co-create class norms and routines, such as one mic, respect of others and the space, and routines for getting in/out of class and our transitions, as well as behavior management and resetting class volume or expectations as needed.

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A quote that stood out to me in our reading was "Good teaching cannot be

reduced to technique; good teaching comes from the identity and integrity of the teacher" (Palmer, 1997; pg 2). For me, this quote stood out because I found myself struggling to my own identity to my pedagogy when it came to working through my fellows program in the beginning, because I focused so much on following a lesson plan formula that if I'm being honest, even I found myself bored with the work I was doing. However, when I started to incorporate components of not only my own but also the identities of my students as well, I saw engagement (including my own) soaring because lessons began to carry personal meaning and value for not only myself but many of my students. When I started to be animated and turn a lesson plan into a really engaged, fun class conversation I saw myself and my students so much more animated and excited- I loved getting to see that shift from droning on in front of a class off a lesson script to having students close to jumping in their seats out of excitement to share the answer or their thinking, and more importantly to them, an aspect of themselves which we were able to connect to our lesson. One example would be when I started to make do-nows about existing foods that we both enjoyed, or starting out mini lesson segments by asking a question in relation to a visual such as "When I say go, can everyone shout out their favorite animal they see here?" before asking "How many ___ do you see in the picture? How do you know?"

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My introductory activity was for students to interview each other in pairs and then introduce each other to their group mates followed by creating a group “portrait” that was then shared with the full class. My second introductory activity was for students to interview each other again in pairs about their goals for the class and their future. In groups, students created vision boards to illustrate and share their goals with the full class. I have mostly entering level 9th and 10th grade students so they were provided with simple questions, sentence frames and word banks to facilitate their interviews.

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This quote resonated with me from Wright, Chapter 1, p.22:

“Multicultural education can help prepare all students to live in our multicultural society, with attention to the complex social challenges - including racism, discrimination, and other issues of inequality - that continue to plague our society.” This section goes on to highlight the work of Banks (2018) on how schools should provide multicultural education by providing interventions on 4 levels - “contributions”, “additive”, “transformative” and “social action”.

I found these levels to be helpful measures of how well a school is doing in their provision of multicultural education. This connects to my experience teaching summer school through the Fellows program. My school provided me with a curriculum centered on celebrating Christoper Columbus that lacked any perspectives from indigenous communities. In order to address this gap in the curriculum, I provided materials from the perspective of the Taino and other indigenous peoples. My students then wrote argumentative essays expressing their views on colonialism in the 15th century and how it connects to neocolonial projects in Latin America such as mining and deforestation.

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I had some shy kids in my group so I'm glad I planned this game. I brought a fun, striped bag and put little phrases inside it. For example: "Raise your hand if you like animals." Students could raise their hand to pick the prompt out of the bag, and then others raised their hand and then I'd ask students to elaborate on what their favorite animal is, etc. It was a great way to break the ice and get the shy kids to talk.

I also did an activity where the students drew a self portrait that had something representing their culture, their favorite food, favorite animal, and favorite place. I googled students' flags so they could see them and color them in, and it definitely made them feel good to have a way to represent their culture.

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The quote I selected is from the Ayers reading:

"A teacher who takes up this fundamental

challenge is a teacher working against the

grain—you have got to have the nerve. All the pressures of schooling push teachers to act as clerks and functionaries—interchangeable parts in a vast and gleaming and highly ratio-nalized production line. To teach with a heart and a brain—to see education as a deeply hum-anizing enterprise opening infinite possibilities for your students—requires courage. Courage is a quality nurtured in solidarity with others - it is an achievement of colleagues and allies. To teach with thought and care and courage, you really need a home."

I'm in an ICT class (4th grade) with an untenured co-teacher who is definitely in the clerk/functionary vibe. She is obsessed with "keeping up and keeping things moving" and being in lock step with the bilingual class next door, even though our students face more significant challenges. Her energy is frantic and irritating to me and so far it has also bothered the students, some of whom have told me they're scared of her.

The worst is, so far she seems really defensive when I have brought up what to do about one of our students who needs the most help. I feel like I am going against the grain and I just feel unsupported so far. This whole weekend I've really questioned why I'm doing this. Why teach when it feels like the schools don't actually want you to teach in a humane way? And how can I fight against it when the senior members on my team are just "numb" (literal words of one of them) or are committed to "keeping things moving" above all else?

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From Ayers "The Hope and Practice of Teaching"

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From Ayers "The Hope and Practice of Teaching"

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"Teaching as humanization, teaching as a project whose irreducible goal is both further enlightenment for each and greater freedom for all"

In the age of AI, and the mechanization and standardization of many areas of life, including education, I really resonated with this quote, which underscores the continuing value teachers have amidst all the changes. I think language teachers are especially in a position to serve as a humanizing force in the lives of their students, who may be overlooked and underserved otherwise. To create a community across language barriers in a shared goal of "enlightenment," or at least language acquisition (the two may be linked), is the important, challenging goal of our career.

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An activity I did with my students was to have an "About Me" worksheet where the students filled out basic info about themselves including a rough self-portrait. After they completed it, I handed out post-it notes and had them walk around, leaving comments and questions on each other's worksheets. This was a good community-building activity for the first days of class because students got to learn more about one another and start formulating ideas in English.

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One activity/lesson/ice breaker I play on doing with my students this week is...

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One activity/lesson/ice breaker I play on doing with my students this week is...

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One activity I plan on doing with my students this week is a get to know or an all about me. I plan on doing this with the younger grades and some of the entering level students. Students can create a simple poster, booklet, or slide with visuals and words to share basic facts about themselves—such as their name, favorite food, favorite color, family, or a hobby. Providing sentence starters (e.g., My name is…, I like…, My favorite color is…) along with pictures or icons supports helps all students feel successful in expressing who they are.

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A quote from the reading that resonated with me was: 

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A quote from the reading that resonated with me was: 

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"Become a student of your students first, and then create a lively community through dialogue; love your neighbors; question everything; defend the downtrodden.” (Ayers, 2006) These words remind me that teaching is more than delivering lessons—it’s about truly seeing students as whole people. This vision of teaching aligns with my own hope of creating a classroom where students feel valued and empowered. This quote resonates with me because as both a new teacher and a grad student myself , I’m constantly reminded that learning goes both ways. I can’t expect to truly reach my students if I don’t first take the time to learn from them—who they are, what they value, and how they see the world. Building a community rooted in dialogue and care feels essential, not only for my students’ growth but for my own development as an educator. It pushes me to stay humble, curious, and committed to justice as I grow in this profession.

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Even though I don’t have my official grade level yet, I’ve been teaching 7th graders. On the first day, since my students come from different countries and backgrounds, I prepared a simple “All About Me” activity using a slideshow.

First, I showed a few slides about myself — my name, where I’m from, the languages I speak, and something I like. Then, I asked the students to create their own introductions using the same format. One by one, they shared simple sentences like: My name is____. I am from ___. I speak ___. I like ___.

After that, we played a fun “This or That” game using slides with options, like “Pizza or Burgers” and “Summer or Winter.” Students showed their choices by raising their hands, and it helped everyone relax, laugh, and learn more about each other.

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A key quote that shaped my thinking was:

Good teaching cannot be reduced to technique; good teaching comes from the identity and integrity of the teacher. Parker J. Palmer

Why does it resonate with me?
This resonates with me as an ENL teacher because It teaches me that being a good teacher means bringing my whole self to the classroom, not just my techniques. My students connect with me when I bring my true self into the classroom, my experiences, my passion, and my care for their learning.

Every day, I work with students who come from diverse backgrounds, speak different languages, and face unique challenges. To truly reach them, I need to be authentic and show that I care about who they are, not just what they know. When I share my passion for learning and create a safe, supportive space, my students respond with more curiosity, effort, and confidence.

This quote encourages me to trust myself and embrace my own identity as a teacher. It reminds me that my personal values, experiences, and integrity are powerful tools in helping students grow, sometimes even more than any single technique or method could ever be.

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One thing I plan on doing with my students this week is a "get to know me" paper. I really like this heart map: https://share.google/images/73zqlQkFLScIgKR6z

Not only will this help me get to know my students so I can find readings/activities structured to their interests, but it will be a creative outlet for them to express themselves.

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While reading "How to Develop a Lesson Plan that Includes ELLs," I had two quotes that really resonated with me. The first quote, "in order to succeed in these classes, ELLs need the literacy, language skills, and background knowledge necessary to master that new content knowledge." This is important for a few reasons. It is important to understand why ELL students may struggle more than their traditional peers. ELLs/MLL are grappling not only with language acquisition, but also with cultural knowledge that their peers have spent years learning.

It was also encouraging to read "she reminds educators not to be afraid to go back to the drawing board if it doesn't go well the first time!" I am really struggling to engage my students in class, so it is reassuring to know that I can go back to the drawing board and try, try, try again!

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The main focus of my first week is identifying students that are in need to NYSITELL testing. I am interviewing all of the Kindergartners to see if they are in need to testing for services. Because of this, I don't really have classroom activities. However, I have been able to do an "About Me" activity with each student One-on-One. I have been asking them about their home lives, their likes and dislikes, what they do in their free time, their favorites, ect. This activity has been really fun to do because I get to work with them individually and really get to know their personalities. I am interviewing lots of students that I might not be servicing directly, but I'm glad to be able to get to know them for when I see them in the halls.

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Aside from creating classroom norms, what I did with my students on the first week of class was a "Set the Tone" activity. At the beginning of class we went over the meaning of tone and we gave them a sheet with several tone words, (we had cognates and translations for the L's). Then students would have to choose 6 tone words that stood out to them when thinking about this school year. Then they created an art piece inspired by one word that represents their tone going into this new school year. Students included a written response explaining why they chose that word and how they will embody it. This activity was a great way to help students take ownership of their learning environment because it invited them to reflect on their mindset, set personal intentions, and express themselves creatively. It also built community by allowing students to share their goals and values with one another in a meaningful, visual way.

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One activity that I did with my students during the first two days was a questionnaire. I had the students share with me their names, their country of origin (if they felt comfortable sharing), their home language, one fun fact about themselves, and what they feel they need the most support with in learning English. That activity was very useful for me because I do not have access to the students prior NYSESLAT scores yet, so seeing what each of them felt they wanted more support on helped me to shape the focus for my activities this week. I also pushed the students to answer those questions independently in English to the best of their ability so that I can also use that to gauge their comfortability in writing.

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One quote that resonated with me in the Palmer text was "...a good teacher must stand where personal and public meet, dealing with the thundering flow of traffic at an intersection where 'weaving a web of connectedness' feels more like crossing a freeway on foot. As we try to connect ourselves and our subjects with our students, we make ourselves...vulnerable to indifference, judgment, ridicule." This section resonated with me because one of my biggest concerns as a new teacher at the start of the school year is being taken seriously and allowing myself to be authentic and vulnerable in building relationships with students despite those concerns. Any good teacher has to establish trust with their students, and that is even escalated with MLL's who need to feel comfortable enough to try speaking or reading in English in front of other peers. There is a sense of shared vulnerability in the classroom that is required of everyone to be able to effectively teach and learn.

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At my school, the first week is relatively slow for ENL teachers. First few days my collegues and I spent mostly helping with registration of new students and administrating language interviews and examiniations to incoming NYCPS students. As an opening activity, which I hope to give to my fifth graders, I aim to include a Get-to-Know-Me component. That way I aim to not only learn more about my students, but also to identify deeper their academic and langauge needs.

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The quote that stood out to me the most was from the Parker Palmer's article that reads: "When I violate myself, I invariably end up violating the people I work with." It reminded me of the fact that my inner self is not separable from my teacher self. My emotions, thoughts, and reactions spill into my own and other's professional lives. And while our focus is always remain on our students, I remind myself that it becomes extremely improtant to take of oneself in order to maintain stamina and composure to stay in teaching for the long haul. I can not allow frustrations or mismatches outside of classroom to take over in a classroom. As much as I strive to learn teaching techniques and methods to become great at my job, I equally seek to learn the methods of social-emotional endurance.

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"Instead,

there’s a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants resigna-

tion, as well as concrete reinforcement of the

worst aspects of the experience in all too many

schools, such as contempt for parents, fear of

students, lowering expectations, an unhealthy

obsession with control, and a culture of confor-

mity and complaint. It’s an anticipatory set for

mediocrity and failure." This quote sticks with me because it reminds me of the school to prison pipeline. Holding on to the traditional, or standard, way of educating students creates a cycle that actually harms our students more than helps them. Just as we work to challenge our students to be critical thinkers, and to use their imagination and creativity, it is equally important that educators build those habits within themselves. Educators can have pre conditioned notion, and implicit biases that they are unaware of that impacts the way that they show up in the classroom and interact with their students. We must always be cautious that we are acting in their best interest and not allowing conditioning to stunt their growth through us.

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Two activities I am excited to do with my students are 1) Getting to know the classroom. I will label everything in the class (Chairs, board, table, etc) and I will provide my students with bingo cards that have images of the items on it and a space to write the name of the item. This will be a fun way to get students out of their seat and acquainted with the space around them, ensuring that they know how to identify and find what they may need throughout the year. The second activity will be a getting to know you activity (I will most likely switch the orders) that incorporates TPR. Students will share their favorite something and then act it out in front of the class. It can even be expanded to where they bring it in for a show and tell if we decide to make it a longer activity.

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We are about to start a unit writing "This I Believe" essays. Today I am going to write different beliefs on index cards. In groups students will go around in a circle and take a card. They will say if they agree or disagree with the statement and why.

I also tried the "Train Wreck" game the other day where student sit in a a circle and say one thing about themselves that is true. If it is true for other people in the group then they all have to switch seats.

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"Unlike many professions, teaching is always done at the dangerous intersection of personal and public life." This quote stood out to me because it reminded me vividly of that feeling of standing in front of students when you're trying to make a judgment call in front of them. Yesterday I asked a student to switch seats in my class because he wasn't in his assigned seat. He said he didn't want to. In that moment of trying to figure out what to do in front of everyone else I felt incredibly vulnerable.

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I would like to use a heritage/"me" questionaire to encourage my students to speak about what they know and who they are. They will receive questions about their family, background, and their interests.

Then I'd like to have them build on this by bringing in an item to "show & tell" why it is significant to them and where it comes from.

Eventually, I would like to use this to jump off into the traditions/"my background" quilt, where they can write about the things we have been discussing. Since we will have talked about this in a few different ways, I'm hoping it will make it easier for them to focus on the writing aspect of the quilt.

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Staying true to who you are as a teacher 

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Staying true to who you are as a teacher 

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In the Palmer reading it says, “Good teaching cannot be reduced to technique; good teaching comes from the identity and integrity of the teacher”. This resonates with me because as I have started to get to know my students, I have realized the importance of building relationships and fostering a great classroom environment. Students need to be able to connect with a teacher and feel comfortable with them, which is something that isn’t displayed through technique. This is displayed by who the teacher is true to themselves, their identities, and who they are to students. I plan on being a teacher like this, who can keep the integrity and identity of who they are at all times.

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One thing that I plan to do with my students is a jigsaw activity of finding someone who likes or has a specific thing. My students are mainly comfortable in Spanish so I made sure to have the translations available for them. This will get the students more comfortable with each other and break the ice between them.

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From "The Heart of a Teacher"

When I do not know myself, I cannot know who my students are. I will see them through a glass darkly, in the shadows of my unexamined life-and when I cannot see them clearly I cannot teach them well. When I do not know myself, I cannot know my subject... Intellect, emotion, and spirit depend on each other for wholeness... (and none can be ignored)...

I want to teach to the whole child and understand my student as best as I can. And I completely agree that I cannot do that if I am not being vulnerable with my own self and reflecting on my own actions before blaming the student for slow progress or anything else. I think we have to understand the student to teach them in the way they can process information best and be mindful of the fact that this person is more than just a child or a student. If I can tap into the inner self of the student, I can motivate them to learn without pushing them. I can activate their intellect, emotion, and spirit to be receptive to my teaching. And I will reflect and look at my own intellect, emotion, and spirit to offer myself to them so they know that I am accessible and they trust me and my teaching. Ultimately, I want to teach them to be strong, new citizens in our damaged world, to bring about positive change and make a home for themselves everywhere they go.

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One quote from the reading that resonated with me.

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One quote from the reading that resonated with me.

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One quote from the reading that resonated with me is “As I teach, I project the condition of my soul onto my students, my subject, and our way of being together” (Palmer, 1997). In our role as educators, we are responsible for facilitating the learning process in the classroom. However, doing this job requires more effort than people assume. I find this quote to be helpful in reflecting on my own practice as a teacher and in considering how my actions and behaviors may impact students in my classroom. It can be extremely detrimental to the students if a teacher has the tendency to become upset very quickly. Having such behavior in the classroom can cause stress to the students and make them not want to be there. A fellow paraprofessional once explained to me how her students would consistently skip class. According to her student, he did not want to attend school because he knew his teacher did not want him in their classroom. In reading that quote, I was reminded of that conversation. Taking time to reflect upon the message conveyed in this quote allows us to think about our attitude in the classroom, examine ourselves, and consider what kind of teacher we desire to be. Aside from that, our behavior can also have a significant impact on the subject matters that we teach. Unless we enjoy what we teach, we won't be able to make it engaging for our students or teach it well. It is important to keep in mind that if a class is not engaging, the students will not feel motivated to attend the class, participate and complete their homework. Our behavior as teachers can also negatively affect the classroom environment and make it less welcoming for our students. Teachers who are happy will also have happy students. When they are experiencing difficulties, they will see that we are approachable and will not hesitate to seek help from us.

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One opening activity that I had planned for my student was a “this or that” activity. This is a fun icebreaker exercise that encourages students to move around. I like this excersice because the first day of school can be quite intimidating and boring. Therefore, I wanted them to do something fun. They had to get up and move around the room and choose between the items presented on the board. First example, the first slide they had to pick between rice or bread. On the second slide, the choice was either dog or cat. Then music or movie. With each slides I had pictures since they are English language learners. They really enjoyed the activity.

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For icebreakers this week, I had everyone line up around the classroom and gave them three minutes to sort themselves in alphabetical order, which meant they had to ask each other their names and possibly how to spell them. I then sat them in that order around the three tables, introduced the class, and then gave each table a Bingo game card where they had to figure out who at their table fit certain boxes, like "Speaks Arabic," "Listens to K-pop," "Loves anime," "Is the youngest sibling" ... things like that. I learned it from the District 30 Welcome Event. I explain how to win the game, but I also mention that you can also win if you manage to get everyone's name into one box - meaning that everyone at the table has that one thing in common.

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The quote that stayed with me is: “Become a student of your students first, and then create a lively community through dialogue; love your neighbors; question everything; defend the downtrodden; challenge and nourish yourself and others; seek balance.” (Ayers 2006, P.275)

I think about what it means to start by learning from my students, before anything else. It means I can’t come into the room with assumptions, and I can’t teach like I already know who they are or what they need. I have to listen closely. I have to notice the small things. In being curious about them, I want to model how to be curious about what we are learning in class.

This idea of building a community through dialogue reminds me that I don’t want compliance, I want conversation. I want students to feel like this space is theirs too, not something they pass through. And when it says to defend the downtrodden, that feels personal. That reminds me of why I do this. It reminds me of the kids who get overlooked or labeled too fast, of how easy it is to get caught up in the pace and forget who I’m really showing up for.

The last part is the hardest. Seeking balance. I’ve been trying to find it between what I expect of myself and what’s actually possible. Between pushing my students and protecting their peace. Between being reflective and not overthinking every move.

This quote is a reminder to return to purpose. To keep working, not because I’ll ever feel like I’ve arrived, but because the work is worth doing.

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"Rather than fully adopt "American" culture (whatever that may be) or adopt their parents' idealized notions of the native culture, many children of immigrants forge a style of cultural identity that is neither one nor the other but a hybrid of the two that is uniquely theirs. This hybridization is referred to by some scholars as a 'third space'." (Wright, 2015, p. 21).

I love this quote. It resonates with my personal experience as the daughter of immigrant assimilationist parents who tried to make my brother and me Americans - but simply could not separate our cultural identity from our lives. I ended up divorced from my native culture while still unable to fit into the American mold, unable to belong anywhere but this "third space." Ultimately what took its place was growing up in New York City - something I didn't realize until I went to Ohio for college. Being a New Yorker encompassed my American-ness and ethnic diversity all at once, but the struggle of finding that continues to inspire me to help my students feel welcome and embrace their commonalities and differences as what makes our community so singular.

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"Bilingualism is never just additive, it is inherently dinámico" is a quote that really resonated with me because it really puts into perspective that our students are learning more than just English in the classrooms. They are gaining language and expression in multiple forms. This can change shape based on the individuality of each student. The abilities of each student impact how their English learning manifests itself and can be shown in many different modalities. Learning English is a way for them to continue to grow their person and unlock doors while continuing to grow the person that they are in their home language(s). It's also a good reminder that language learning isn't always straight forward and can take many different turns.

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One thing I plan to do with my students this week is an “About Me | Sobre mí” icebreaker where each student fills out a simple bilingual template with their name, favorite activity, and one thing they want to learn this year, then pairs up to share and introduce their partner to the class. This activity will not only build community and ease first-week nerves, but also give students a low-stakes chance to practice listening, speaking, and connecting English with their home language.

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A quote from the reading that resonated with me was, “Teachers must view students’ languages and cultures as resources, not obstacles,” because it reflects my own belief that honoring students’ backgrounds creates stronger connections and more meaningful learning opportunities in the classroom.

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Last week, for my first day of classes, I planned two different activities for my Forensics high school class. The students started out the class by filling out a basic questionnaire about themselves, followed by an essay section asking students to share what they want their teachers to know about them. It was very open-ended, and the students went in all sorts of directions for what they wanted to share about themselves and what they thought was important for their teachers to know. This writing sample has helped serve as an informal introduction to their writing skills. The second activity I prepared was a series of riddles based on solving crimes. This activity helped students understand that when solving criminal cases and entering the world of forensics, problem-solving is not always linear, and they need to approach a problem from several different angles. It was a nice introduction to the subject of the class, provided students with an opportunity to talk with each other to solve the riddles, and allowed me to listen and learn about their speaking and listening skills.

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“A commitment to seeing the person requires a radical reversal: Teachers, whatever else they do, must become students of their students, fully human subjects who become a source of knowledge and information and energy, actors, speakers, creators, constructors, thinkers, doers—a teacher as well as a learner. Together students and teachers explore, inquire, investigate, search, ask questions, criticize, make connections, draw tentative conclusions, pose problems, act, seek the truth, name this and that phenomenon, circle back, plunge forward, reconsider, gather steam, pause, reflect, reimagine, wonder, build, assert themselves, listen carefully, and speak. It doesn’t end.” (Ayers, 2006)

This quote from Ayers resonates with me because I admire the call to action to stay proactive in learning about our students. Understanding another person is a continuous journey, and we will never fully understand every aspect of our students. I value Ayer’s recognition of the vast complexity of our students and his encouragement for teachers to continue learn about their students and challenge our preconceived notions. All of the actions described in the passage require active engagement and ongoing vigilance. There is also a sense of humility that resonates with me in the description of a radical role reversal with our students. We must accept that we are always students and will never be true experts on human subjects that are constantly changing and evolving. Our students need space to grow and change, and it is our responsibility to create conditions where they can expand and evolve, and we can adapt to their changing needs, goals, strengths, and challenges.

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Because I am a push-in and haven't had my stand alone yet, other teachers used the "raise your hand if" ice breakers. They had multiple questions about the students summer and asked if they either went to another country, city or went on trips. It was a good ice breaker where the students then shared some of their stories and their classmates were able to relate or add on too. I may be getting my standalone within the next few weeks and they will all be ENL students. So, I plan on having the students make a photo collage where they show their interests, favorite food, color, music, etc.. I would show an example of how it should look and have them follow. It should be easy and fun considering I am already working with them in the push-in classes.

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The Hope and Practice of Teaching "Teaching is intellectual and ethical work; it

takes a thoughtful, reflective, and caring person

to do it well. It takes a brain and a heart." This could be seen as such an obvious saying but it has heavy meaning for me. Coming from an education experience where teachers treated students differently based off their cultural backgrounds, this quote hits home. Teachers really need to love what the job comes with rather than just focusing on teaching content and going home. They have to take time to understand their students and all that comes with them. Teachers need to accept that everybody is different and learn to adapt to those differences. Not just adapt but embrace those students they may feel are different as well. It really is important for me as a new teacher to learn how I can accommodate to all students needs.

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After looking at some of the resources for the first week of school, I've decided that I am going to have my entering/emerging 1-2 students create an "About Me" book that they can color and take home! This will introduce them to some basic sentence starters (My name is....., I am from....., I like....), provide them with some writing practice (including writing their name), give them the opportunity to share orally with each other, and give me the opportunity to learn more about them! I have several newcomers in this group, several students that have not yet learned to read or write in their home language, and several students who are familiar with different alphabets (Arabic, etc.). This activity will allow me to gauge current student levels of reading, writing, and speaking, while also allowing me to slow down and focus on different things for each student. Maybe one student needs to practice tracing their name, while a student at a more advanced English level can learn some new vocabulary to fill in the sentences.

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One quote that really stuck with me is that "We need to understand that teaching requires thoughtful, caring people to carry it forward successfully, and we need, then, to commit to becoming more caring and more thoughtful as we grow into our work" (Ayers, 2006). It really filled me with some optimism, because in general I hear a lot of negativity about teaching. This comes from people outside the profession, yes, but it comes from veteran teachers as well. Already in my first week and a half at school, I have heard teachers complaining about specific students and dreaming of retirement. In many ways I understand where they are coming from, but the constant onslaught of negativity makes the job harder and is enough to freak any new teacher out. I always assumed that teachers tend to get more cynical with experience, but this quote provides an alternative path: the option to become more caring and thoughtful. It struck me as a very hopeful idea. Instead of staring down a path of increasing discontent and negativity, we can instead choose to learn from each experience in a manner that softens, rather than hardens our hearts towards our students and their experiences.

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For the first day activity I did various activities with my students. Firstly, I introduced myself with a google slides presentation. Then I used a large chart paper with three categories. In the first category students had to write their name, in the second category where they’re from and in the last category they wrote their favorite food. All students then verbally introduced themselves. I think this was a cool ice breaker that allowed me to see how much my students can write and speak. After we finished the ice breaker the students then created a self portrait where half their face was of themselves and the other half was of things that makes up their personality.

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A quote that stood out to me is the following: “End each day by asking yourself how you could have done better with this kid or that situation. What alternatives exist? What can I learn from my mistakes? How can I make a better move tomorrow? In the infinitely complex world of teaching, there is always something more to know, something more to do. Without self-criticism, we risk self-righteousness. Don't turn into one of those familiar characters in every school who's seen it all and knows every-thing: Growth requires doubt.“

The reason this quote stood out to was because I believe one of the most important mindsets to have in the field of education is a growth mindset. Everyday is an opportunity to get better and it’s essential as educators we reflect and constantly strive to reach our students in deep and meaningful ways. When working with ENL students its vital to constantly find tools and methods to better engage our students in learning.