This year, I had a chance to become an inquiry coach with our preservice teachers. We often talk about inquiry in our field, but I learned that not a lot of new teachers have experience working with it.

Our middle grades preservice teachers used the semester to work one-on-one with students who led and designed their own learning experiences. It was so incredible joyful to not only see students become passionate learners but to see our teachers transform into learners alongside them!

"Mrs Q-Burger, I survived (and loved) my first year of teaching. At first, I was still terrified of entering a classroom full of students that I didn't know, nor they didn't know me. But, I've learned that it's a very natural feeling when facing the unknown. And as the year unfolded, the anxiety I felt melted away. I became comfortable in my skin as a teacher. I memorized each of my student's names, faces, and even handwriting! I can confidently say I cared about each of my students, and in this last week, I understand now what it means to make your students feel safe. When you told me that making your students feel safe was important to you as a teacher, I couldn't even imagine for myself that I could make my students feel safe, but, somehow, I did in my first year of teaching. There were those students who became easily drawn to me, and purposely bugged me, or wanted me to help them with their homework in another class. Or students who brought me candy or offered me food. The students who I thought wouldn't come around, came around, and they did in their own way...because they felt comfortable, because I think they felt safe around me. I think they saw that I really wanted to help them, and I always made myself present to them to walk them through a problem or coach them to arrive to an answer on their own. When I really reflect on this year, I didn't just make them feel safe and comfortable, but THEY, each one of them, made me feel safe and comfortable. I actually understand, as a teacher, what it means to feel safe in a classroom. I can easily remember feeling safe in your 8th grade science classroom! It's a different, but amazing, feeling to be the teacher who makes their students feel safe. I just wanted to share this thought with you. I hope you had a great school year with your kiddos! I know they all loved you!"

My kids are having fun with hands on learning that we are doing in class. We have been working on dialogue and building a dinner party for our class with a script for our dialogue standard.