Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Past, Present, and Future

As I get ready to head back to school, I find myself very reflective. I'm getting ready to begin my sixth year of teaching. It went by so fast... I spent four years working in an elementary school that I myself was a student at, for kindergarten through fifth grade. It was an AMAZING four years. I was surrounded by other teachers who supported and helped me become the teacher I am today. I worked for two different administrators that pushed, challenged, and supported me all at the same time. My first year teaching, I taught second grade. I moved down to first grade the following year to be a part of the huge jump in reading that most first graders accomplish. It was also that second year, that I decided to pursue my Master's in Reading. I realized that as wonderful as my undergraduate program had been, that I lacked the knowledge of how to help these first graders accomplish that amazing jump in reading. I spent the next two years in first grade. Somewhere in the middle of that fourth year, I began to think outside the walls of my school. I had the curiosity of a first grader! I started to look around at other schools in our division to see how they structured their days, their reading instruction, and other initiatives that were being put into place. It wasn't that I was unhappy, I had built a family where I was but I felt restless and curious about the unknown. It was a very difficult decision, but that spring I decided to leave and head to another school. It was difficult to leave my friends, students, and families that I had built deep relationships with over the past four years. But at the same time, I was excited about what was ahead.

I decided to venture out and see how a different building within the same division ran. I felt compelled to make my move to a school that was implementing Responsive Classroom, Expeditionary Learning, and various other initiatives that I felt matched very well with my own personal ideas about education. I immediately (thankfully!) felt that I shared similar values, hopes, and strategies for learning with my new administration. I met amazing teachers, my new students, and realized that as much as I missed my other school, this was a HUGE step professionally for me. I had learned to take risks. Isn't that what we ask of our students? It was a valuable reminder that I needed to be able to do the same. It was hard to be "new" at times, but I was welcomed and included pretty quickly. It was an amazing year of professional learning and growth for me. I also discovered that by moving to a new school, I had doubled the teacher resources that I could lean on for support, ideas, and reflection.

Last year I taught first grade in my new school and I had the pleasure to work with amazing students, families, and support staff in my building. I wouldn't even begin to compare the two schools that I've worked in. Both have and will continue to play a huge part of who I am and are equally special places to me. As the end of the year came last year, the opportunity to loop up with my class presented itself and I was incredibly excited! I began to weigh out all the options and really reflect on how and why this seemed to be exactly the perfect time to try this. I completed my fifth year of teaching last June by sharing with my students and their families my plan to continue on the journey of learning for one more year with them. I was met with amazing feedback, tearful parents who felt relieved that I already knew their child, and the personal sense of gratitude that I would spend another year with this amazing group of children. Now anyone who knows me, would say that I've loved each of my classes with incredible sincerity. I am that teacher who cries every year when they leave. I work hard to build relationships with my students and their families and I would have gladly spent another year with any of them!

As I go into this year, I am thrilled to continue to watch this group of students grow academically and socially. It is my hope that this blog will serve as a way for me, as well as my students and their families to reflect on our two years together. I'm hoping to include student work, thoughts, and ideas to show the growth along our journey. This is the beginning, well... continuation of something wonderful!

4 comments:

  1. Kristen, What a blessing it is for your students that they get to have you twice as their teacher! I look forward to hearing (and reading) all about how much you love 2nd grade. Hugs to you and wishes for a fantastic year!

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  2. I look forward to following and sharing with you on your journey as an incredible person and teacher. As you know... I'm as proud of you as your real mother.
    love ... the other mother.

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  3. We're so lucky to have you at Greer...can't wait to start back to work with you next week!

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  4. Kristen,
    The journey you have taken is one many never embark upon--you not only have embraced risk-taking, but also change, and that resilience, that willingness to try, that readiness to fail and learn from those attempts are great examples for your students, and more importantly, to your peers. Looking forward to being a part of your journey as you blog!

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