Day 30: What #Aprilblogaday Challenge Gave Me

Take Aways: New thinking about yourself and/or your craft after completing the April Blog A Day Challenge

Image via HERE

This is my second year doing the April Blog A Day Challenge.  Last year, it came just a few weeks after I had undergone major surgery to remove the cancer from my body.  It was a scary time and having the space to write and reflect, to focus on my work and think about the hows and whys of my craft were a welcome distraction.  I didn't think that this year I would be facilitating this journey for others.  I wish I has been able to get more people involved.  I pitched to the staff of 50+ teachers at my school and while in theory teachers want to do this kind of work, making time to write and reflect in this way is a big ask of oneself when already feeling overwhelmed with the work to be done.

Ultimately, I am glad I took this on.  I wish I had pushed harder, dig deeper.  I also valued the insight that the small group of bloggers brought to the conversations.  As always the thinking of teachers challenges me to look more closely about how and why I do things. This exercise is invaluable and makes me a better teacher and educator.

Things I want to take back to the staff and administration as part of the larger conversations to be had.

Reflection must happen intrinsically. 

At the end of each lesson plan and unit plan we write at my school there is a space for reflection.  I seldom complete this step. It's not because I don't want to. It's because time keeps ticking and there is always something new to be done. It's difficult for teachers to slow down and really reflect on what is happening in their classrooms.  

Teachers don't learn how to "reflect" and as a result don't learn how to look at student work and data. 

I remember, that the beginning, the talk was data, data, data.  I got frustrated because I was expected to just know how to look at what students were doing and 1. Generate "data" for administration to assess and 2. Use the "data" to inform instruction.  While the phrase "checks for understanding" has become mainstay in teacher talk, truly understanding what the checks tell us is something learned over time and with experience.  

Two weeks ago I facilitated a protocol for examining student work to inform instruction.  I asked two co-teachers to examine the work from one class.  Using a common system of evaluation, they graded, then divided the work up into 4 quartile.  We then moved through a process of examining the 2 lower quartiles.  The process took about an hour and in the end I was able to support teachers in developing a deeper understanding of where their students are, the next steps teachers need to take for strategic interventions (to address misunderstanding of methods or content). 

In their reflection on the protocol teachers wrote:

Image via HERE

"I also liked reviewing the work with my co-teacher because it gave us step-by-step instructions and we were able to do some great analysis of student work and see where students did well and where we need to re-teach or re-focus."

"I really liked the SLIP protocol because it allows me to see which of my students are struggling in common areas. It might have been nice to have access to both higher and lower level students in the comparison to see if there is a common hole in knowledge/skill throughout the whole class which would point to a flaw in instruction."

I am glad my team was able to go through this process.  We had to carve out the time to make it happen.  If administration wants to get the most out of teachers there must be time to do this kind of work.  It needs to be supported and facilitated by more experienced teachers who can help guide the process until teacher teams can take it over on their own and self direct.

Day 29: Teacher Appreciation Week! #AprilBlogADay

-->Prompt: Teacher Appreciation Week is coming up. (May 2-6)- 

How do you celebrate your work and the work of your colleagues? 

Image via Ms. Lombardo

One of my favorite people, Kathleen, who also happens to be an amazing 8th grade teacher, posted a photo of herself on Facebook yesterday sitting in a GIANT beach chair. (Does spring break really have to end?!)  In the comments I wrote, "Edith Ann!" realizing after the fact that she may have no idea who I was talking about.  I had not thought about Edith Ann in years and then this morning as I was doing a little research for this blog post I came across this quote:

 "I like a teacher who gives you something to take home to think about besides homework."  
~Lily Tomlin as "Edith Ann"

 This is so, so true.  As we head into teacher appreciation week it is important to thank teachers for their work and commitment to thinking. My favorite and best teachers challenged my thinking about what I was learning.  For me, every day I step into my own classrooms, I hope that I have created learning experiences that not only push the thinking of my students, but challenge my own thinking on a topic. 

This year, I would like to thank the teachers who so publicly document their journey.  Your journey through education provides insight for all of us and teaches us how to be better teachers.  I would like to thank my AP Lang Facebook group, an amazing collection of teachers who are innovating and challenging, creating exciting learning experiences for students.  I often read their posts and feel so, so inferior but then I am reminded that I am at the beginning (this is only my second year teaching AP Lang) and that I have so much to learn.  Their willingness to share and teach their colleagues is inspiring.  While we don't all agree with everything that is being done, in the end, it is about the kids.  This group epitomizes that ideal. 

I hope this week you all find time and space to thank your own teachers, your children's teachers and your colleagues.  I know for me, I don't need gifts.  Thank yous are enough.  There is nothing better than a note of thanks.  Take the time, write someone who has inspired you and thank them for their service to education and to learning. 

Article: What Do Teachers Really Want For Teacher Appreciation Week? (HuffPost)

NEA Website: 

• Art and Poster Resources 
• TAW Video
•  #thankateacher campaign poster

Edutopia

• TAW: Planning Resources for Parents 

Day 28: Why Teach? WHo would be crazy enough to do that? #aprilblogaday

-->Prompt:  Would you encourage young people to consider the field as a profession?

Image Via schoolsweek.co.uk

Every teacher has seen lists like this one in the HuffPost titled "21 Reasons To Quit Your Job And Become A Teacher" (2013) I, like many teachers here in NYC, am a career changer.  I started grad school in the fall of 2006 at the age of 29.  There were not any fancy incentives for me becoming a teacher.  I don't teach math or science and I am not a special education teacher.  I am a run of the mill English teacher.  What makes me a little different is that I am also a theatre teacher.  I am licensed in both subjects.  I also has a successful career as a theatre professional before moving to teaching. I didn't become a teacher because I couldn't DO what I intended to in my first career.  I became a teacher because I wanted to (and I have already established how selfish teaching is).  It was my evolution. 

I often tell my students is that one of my biggest priorities as their teacher is to make sure they know how to learn independently from me.  My best teachers gave me freedom to discover what I loved and the space to explore that passion.  While school is very different than it was when I was in school, this is still my goal.  I want my kids to leave my room as independent and confident thinkers, researchers and challengers of scholarship.  A sense of inquiry is essential to growth.  My students hopefully go on to college and careers confident and ready to take on anything they are presented with. 

Becoming a teacher--and working as one-- is an investment in both time and money.  I often joke with my kids that I have a MA from NYU instead of children.  In NY one must ultimately have at least a Masters degree to continue teaching. (You can start with a Bachelors degree.)  I also tell the kids though, that education is the best way to invest.  It can not be foreclosed upon. The debt has been worth it.  The journey is worth it.  

If you are not sure about teaching, don't start there.  Do what you think you want to do.  Try it.  See how it goes.  Then if you still want to teach, you will find your way.  

For my friends who like data, here are some numbers for you...

In NY State (2011-2012)

Data from the National Center for Educational Statistics   

Total Teachers: 241,000 

Percent of teachers, by highest degree earned
Less than a Bachelors - 2.8%
Bachelors - 4.4%
Masters -  84.2%
Education specialist  or doctor's -  8.6%

Percent of teachers, by years of full-time teaching experience
Less than 3 - 5.3% 
3-9 years - 30.0%
10-20 years - 45.5% 
Over 20 - 19.1%

Average Class Size
Elementary 20.7
High School 25.2

Note: I have no fewer than 30 kids in each of the classes I teach.  The biggest is 34, the cap here in NYC.  I did teach in an alternative high school where my average class size was about 20.  That was ideal.

We need teachers.  We need strong, confident people of all backgrounds to teach and lead in schools.  It is just that simple.  Do it.

Day 27: Rejuvenation! #AprilBlogADay Challenge

-->Prompt: Continuing: how do you keep stretching and learning over the summer?

Image via HERE

My happy summer place!

 I love summer.  My birthday is in August and I am a true summer baby.  Growing up in Seattle, summer was the pay off for so many months of overcast skies, gloom, and wet.  When it finally came it meant late nights at the park, wondering around the neighborhood with the plethora of kids I grew up with, and swimming in the lakes. It was a different time.  As I get older I am thankful for my 8 weeks off each summer. It is a time for R&R- Rest and REJUVENATION! I have sought out opportunities for me to learn.  Last summer I took an eight week memoir writing class at NYU School of Professional Studies. The summer before I took the College Board AP Summer institute (APSI) Workshop for AP English.  This was only a week.  The summer of 2013 I was accepted at The Cullman Center Institute for Teachers at the NY Public Library for a week long writing intensive with John Wray. These bursts of creative work and learning inspire and rejuvenate me each summer.  I like to be busy.  I like to think.  I like to create.  I thankfully have been able to find opportunities to do all those things each summer.  My husband and I also usually go away for a week to the shore.  Last summer we had a place with a pool.  It was my happy place!

This summer, I have some lofty goals.  Well, I have ONE goal: to pump out a draft of my memoir.  It is not about teaching.  For me, it is good to write about other things.  It is good to talk about my journey, which you can read about on my other blog.  I also get to go to Seattle for 10 days, one of which is for my 20 year high school reunion.  :-)  High school is never too far from my brain. 


My Advice: Do things you love in the summer.  Spend time with people you enjoy.  Eat food you love.  Sit outside in the morning and enjoy the quiet and the light (and that you are not going to work).  Drink cold beverages in warm weather.  Stay up late.  Challenge yourself.  Find creative outlets.  Rejuvenate.

Day 26: If I Was In Charge #AprilBlogADay Challenge

-->Prompt: If you were in charge: What needs to change about education?

I put it out there to the Facebook Hive Mind.  I know a lot of teachers.  I also know a lot of parents.  I was curious to hear what others think about what needs to change.  Here are some of the responses: 

"Smaller class sizes~" -M.M. (parent, school administrator)

"I read a while back the the brain isn't fully awake so to speak early in the morning. The article suggested that kids could learn better if they started school a little later in the morning. Also, recess and naps are essential even after kindergarten. The brains need a quiet moment to recharge. Seating arrangements need to change. The square classroom set up is not methodical. Also, please get rid of the awful fluorescent lights. They mess up the vision and aren't beneficial. I'm very pro vocational schools too. Study what you'd like to study and place more emphasis on that skill opposed to a generalized curriculum." -U.S. (parent, works in higher ed)

" Honestly, pay teachers more. I think they have one of the most difficult and important jobs out there. Also, less worksheets and more creative assignments. Less standardized testing and more freedom to stray from the curriculum." -T.B. (parent)

"Do away with: arbitrary/contrived grades, grades, batching by age, frames around subjects. Incorporate: learning driven by intrinsic motivation. Teacher as facilitator, not expert single source of info. End goal of self-knowledge and actual path to career, not expectation of college. Opportunity to engage/intern with actual professionals in authentic application environments. More opportunity for creative interpretation / knowledge demonstration." -K.M. (teacher, parent)

"Fewer worksheets and more hands-on/project based learning. More discussions and fewer lectures." - S.D. (Parent)

 "Teaching to the test. School needs to be focused on learning and exploring and creating a well rounded individual. One of the things that made me decide to move into the library was that I constantly heard that my theatre class didn't matter. And because the teachers had that attitude I had a lot of students who started to develop that same viewpoint. There's a ton more that I think contributes to the behavior issues that seem so prevalent, but I'm going to get off my soapbox now." -C.G. (former teacher)

"Fund the damn education system!" -N.C (parent) 

 "Less time in the classroom and more time in the community. I think it's equally important to develop humanitarian interests and critical thinking with hands on experience...Actively debating, not discussions, that challenge them to provide fact based data so they understand that emotions are part of the debate but not a pass on providing facts to back their emotions. I think it's a skill a lot of people lack...How to balance an account and manage money. Another lacking skill for many..." -A.C. (Parent)


It's fascinating. Of the list above, two are/were NYC parents/teacher.  I often wonder about what is going on in other parts of the country.  I am on board with a lot of what is stated above: mastery based assessment, project based learning, smaller class sizes (the cap here is 34). 

If I was in charge, this is what I would do: Change needs to begin with teachers.  Teachers are the best source of information and insight into the needs of students, schools and how assessment should and can work.  All the answers are already there: ask us, stop making decisions for us. 

Day 25: The Wrap Up- Did I Get It Done? #AprilBlogADay

Prompt: Wrapping Up The School Year- How will you know if you did what you needed to do this year?

I don't know if you are like me, but usually in early August, about 4 weeks before school starts, the ideas really begin to start flowing and developing.  All the things I want to do differently, to try, begin to take shape.  Last year I taught AP Lang for the first time.  I also had cancer last year.  The second half of my school year was a bit of a mess. I did everything I could to keep up with work and manage my own care and healing.  Being sick and being a teacher is perhaps the most difficult thing I have had to do. I had hoped that this year would be easier.  It was not.  I had surgery to help my paralyzed vocal cord in November and a week into my recovery I found out I had gallstones (as a result from weight loss surgery in November 2013).  You can read more about that journey here. 

The first 4 months of 2016 have been painful and exhausting.  I used all my self-treated days and had to go into my bank of days I have saved.  I know this is what they are for, but I have tremendous guilt about what I have not done this year.  I know there are students who were mad at me for missing so much work.  "If she doesn't care enough to be here...."  Things like that are heartbreaking.  There are few things more important to me than my teaching, my kids.  When my health and my body stopped me from being my best self, it made me angry and disappointed. I scrambled to try and revamp and work with my collaborating teachers to make sure things didn't get too far off track.  I put things into place in the last 6 weeks to ramp up.  The AP exam is May 11th.  We will know in July if the ramp up paid off.  For my 10th graders, we are going to begin writing prep for the global history regents exam in June.  I have a handful of 11th graders I will be working with to prep for retaking the ELA exam, also in June.  So it seems the best indicators are going to be test scores.  Did I, we...do what we needed to do this year.  I hope so.  Time will tell.             
 

Day 24: The Selfishness of Teaching #Aprilblogaday Challenge

Prompt:
Missteps: if you could go back and do something differently in your classroom/with a student/with a colleague what would you do?

Image Via

The short answer is: Everything.  While there have been a lot of RIGHT moves, there are more WRONG ones, which is why I keep coming back.  This is one of the things I love about teaching: each September is a chance to step into a classroom with a new crop of kids and try again to figure out what it means to get it right.   Part of me hopes I never figure it out.  Maybe that is the selfish part of teaching- knowing that it won't every be perfect but the experience of trying is what makes things better. Experience can be painful, brutal, but it makes us who we are each time we step into our rooms. 

Hindsight is 20/20, right?  If I say to myself, I should have done ______, the reality is: what did happen would not have.  For example: part of me knows I should have left my first school at the end of year 4.  Year 5 was painful both professionally and personally.  However, if I had left a year sooner I would not have found AFSE and embarked on the journey I am on now.  

As classroom teachers, part of us must be selfish.  Our students can tell when we teach something we don't love.  They are sensitive, like bees and dogs. The pick up on things.  This is why teaching content we love always translates so much better in the classroom.  Maybe this is easier for high school teachers (this is what I have always taught- outside of my student teaching placements).  I know the Gender and Language unit I do with AP Lang is by far my favorite.  I love that it provokes and gets them thinking in ways they never could have prepared for.  It is the unit that my students talk about with the rising juniors that they fear the most. Which I love.

After my first of two surgeries this year,
I returned to this poster hanging in my classroom. 
Always find the words.

 

Here is what I do regret:  conversations never had.   Moments when I wish I had said something and I didn't.  Students I wish I had told how proud of them I was, but something got in the way.  Maybe it was my own insecurity, my own fears (again, being selfish).  I have had many powerful conversations over the years.  There are students who have passed away far too soon that I wish I had spent more time with.  As a cancer survivor I know better than some that time is precious.  Have the tough conversations.  Don't be afraid to reveal what you don't know in an effort to become a better version of yourself.  These risks are worth it. The brutality of experience is worth it.  Dive in.

Day 23: Which Came First- The Teacher or The School? #aprilblogaday challenge

Do you make your school community or does your school community make you?

A variation on this was used as an essential question for my AP Lang class this unit. Does the individual make the group or place or is the place shaped by the people who occupy it. All terms used loosely.

Image Via

Tonight, I sat next to one of my dearest friends in a room of distinguished alumni from the Program in Educational Theatre at NYU, which was celebrating its 50th anniversary. Phillip Taylor, who was the chair during my time there, interviewed playwright John Patrick Shanley ('77) who is perhaps best known for his play and later film: Doubt. There were a plethora of quotable quotes (would you expect anything less from a Pulitzer winning playwright?) that I wish I had written down. I, and I am sure many of my colleagues, would say the program gave me the space to become who I was meant to be: a teacher.  I don't know that my presence in the program made any sort of indelible mark on it however, which is ok. I picked NYU strategically because it provided an opportunity for me to study teaching both theatre and English. My time at NYU was a benchmark in my development as a pedagogue. 

It was nice tonight to get to see and talk to professors, some who knew exactly who I was and others  I was sure thought I was someone else. They were teachers who pushed me and prepared me to challenge and provoke the thinking and learning of young people. (Thanks Christina and Joe.) Now as I do more and more work with new and pre-service teachers, I appreciate my professors more than ever. 

That community shaped me.

 

I have had the honor of shaping two different schools now. Being a founding member of a school is a challenge especially in the era of small "boutique schools" here in NYC. Our school (afsenyc.org) is now at capacity with about 125 students per grade and about 55 teachers. (11 make up the English Dept. We have 5 content, 3 SPED, 1 ELL, and 2 teaching residents who were with a mentor teacher for the year). A science teacher said to me today that a strong English department is essential to creating and maintaining a strong school. Last year we sat our first cohort of students for the state exam- Common Core English. We had 99% passing. We are indeed strong. I think we have had a huge influence on the evolution of our school culture, academically. Some good things, some that need shifting and revision to become stronger. 

I have helped to shape this community.

As you can see, I still don't have a definitive answer to my question: which came first- the teacher or the school?  I am simply thankful I have been able to create and be created.

Day 22: My DREAM Team #aprilblogaday

Prompt: If you could collaborate with any teacher/class what/who would it be and what would the collaboration look like?

Image Via

Our spring break is very late this year. It's felt like an incredibly long stretch, I am sure exacerbated by my surgery at the end of February. (It was my second surgery this school year and the 4th time I was subjected to anesthesia). All these things are incredibly hard on one's body. I'm ready for a break.

However, this is also the time of year I start thinking about next year. All the things I can do differently... better. I often feel like I have failed my students, I could have done so much more, so how can I improve and do better. 

Next year will be round 9 in my own classrooms. Year 11 since I walked into my first DOE classroom. I have lost some of my passion when it comes to teaching and I have to work harder to fine new ways to grow and challenge myself and my students. There has been some great stuff with student led discussions in my 10th and 11th grade classes this spring that I would like to figure out how to vertically align so students are doing this type of work each year. Giving students a structure and the space to teach and learn from each other is powerful. I learn so much about my students and the content from listening to them grapple with what they are studying.

That's all well and good Meredith, but get to the prompt. I would like to teach a block with someone from our social studies department for 9th grade to design and implement a humanities curriculum that reflects some of the themes already existing in the 9th grade curriculum around power.  I want to take many of the things I have learned and design a scope and sequence that challenges students to read, write, speak and listen. That it challenges them to find connections between literature and history. 

I think back in one of my most successful semesters in college. I took:

1. Intro to political science
2. U. S. History, 1865-today
3. Clothing history (my BFA is in costume design and construction)

I remember the point in the semester that the first two classes synced up and suddenly the content was clicking in a new way. The parallels between clothing history and the political climate was eye opening. When content from multiple POVs aligns the learning can be so much richer.  

Another class I would love to teach is in fact a costume design and construction in Design & Tech with our teacher Mr. Rothman who runs the makerspace.   That is my HUGE dream class. 

Happy Spring Break!

Day 21: The Key To Teacher Resiliency May Be Mentoring #AprilBlogADay

Image Via HERE

-->Prompt: What makes you resilient? Why are you still teaching today?

In an article from NEA Today Cindy Long reports:

"However, “two important findings support what NEA has advocated for a long time,” says Segun Eubanks, director for Teacher Quality at the National Education Association (NEA). “That high quality mentors and competitive salaries make a difference in keeping teachers.”

According to the study, in 2008-2009, 92 percent of those who had first-year mentors were still teaching, compared to 84 percent of those without mentors. By 2011-12, 86 percent of those who had first-year mentors were teaching, compared to 71 percent who did not have mentors."

 If I do my English teacher math, based on the data, first year teachers who have mentoring are 15% more likely to to continue teaching than those who don't.  Is mentoring the key to resiliency? I didn't have much formal mentoring but I did have access to a number of amazing ELA coaches that I worked with over the years before the CFNs (essentially and very simply: networks of schools that are supported by a group of coaches- and other support staff).  Their guidance and advice was invaluable as I developed my teaching practice.  

This year I work (formally) with two first year teachers.  One a new ELA teacher the other a music teacher.  I hope that I offer as much to them as coaches in my journey offered me.  Some days I see them struggle, others I know they are having wins.  I know that trail and error is a huge part of the teaching and learning process.  We discover what worked by see what didn't.  New teachers, however, don't like to make mistakes.  They put so much pressure on themselves to be their own ideal of what a teacher should be, there is often no space for challenges, faults and failures. I will be the first to tell you, there are many things that needed work.  That is how I got better. 

The quote above says is all.  When we give ourselves permission to stop striving for perfection and instead strive for growth, then we can become the teachers we are meant to be. 

Day 20: Our Students Change Us #aprilblogaday

Prompt: Tell a story about the student you have learned the most from.

I don't have children.  I wont be having children.  I think a lot about legacy and what I am leaving behind.  The mock AP Lang exam I gave last week included a speech from Jane Addams about the legacy of George Washington.  While I am certainly am not even remotely close to that kind of legacy I do want to leave something behind. I want to know that I have made an impact on both my students and my colleagues....

Last year I got to sit down for brunch with Jasmine.  She was immersed in the 3rd year of her teacher training program.  Jasmine was my student and now she is becoming the teacher. Her resilience and dedication to her chosen path is exciting.  When the students you teach become teachers themselves, especially students who struggled and understand challenges that their own students will face: that may be one of the most powerful experiences of my career.  I could not be more proud of Jasmine and her bright future as she begins her career.

Jasmine's High School Graduation, 2011

Post Brunch Selfie, 2015

Day 19: Best Ever... #aprilblogaday

Prompt: Best lesson ever? Best unit? Best curriculum? What made it the best?

My first five years teaching I worked in a Transfer high school. In NYC these alternative high schools fell under the then Office of Multiple Pathways to Graduation. One of the many advantages for students is that they can earn credits at a faster pace to make up for time lost. This means three marking periods/report cards per year. This also means I was creating two new classes every trimester. That is 6 a year with little repetition, especially in the first couple years. Students may need 6 English credits which means they take your class all year long. (Small schools, only 2 ELA teachers). I wrote a lot of units of study. I got fast and efficient. This also allowed me the privilege of trying new things all the time. 

While I think my strength is the design and implementation of project based learning especially capstone or culminating portfolio work. That said, I have always enjoyed the writing piece more than the reading piece. Yes, yes. Need for both. Yada, Yada, Yada. I like writing. (Clearly, Meredith.) My favorite unit, a literary unit on journey myths. THINK: The Wizard of Oz, Into The Wild, and my favorite Hole in My Life by Jack Gantos. Tied to a study of the Hero's Journey my students dive into vivid fiction but also amazing non fiction, memoir being my favorite, and explore themes around having to leave where you are from in order to truly discover who you are and what is important to you. There was also much talk of big ideas like values and family.  The Gantos book was often used in the infamous critical lens essay on the ELA Regents exam each year (before CCLS revised the role of writing about literature in our English classes). In the end my students were always able to make connections to their own journeys of self-discovery and personal evolution.  

 

Day 18: Teacher Traning #AprilBlogADay Challenge

-->Prompt: What was your favorite part of your teacher training?

Tes, Jill, Me and Toni: My 3 best friends from NYU.

Last week my friend Kathleen, an 8th grade teacher here in NYC, emailed me: 

 Hey Meredith,

I'm changing up my next unit, like, a lot. Normally I mirror it with what they are learning in history but the history units are different this year....so I am spicing things up. 

I am starting a creative writing unit. We already did a few days of writing workshop and it's great! I am incorporating Postsecret as well. With all the tests done, they really need this. BUT... I want it to be differentiated  everywhere---especially with choosing what they actually create. Essentially, their final project can be any genre of writing BUT I wanted to give the option of a play. The problem, is I have little experience with theater. I was wondering if you have a relatively short play that follows a general story mountain to use as an example? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Miss you. 

Kathleen and I did our English student teaching together in the fall of 2007.  I relied heavily on her that fall as she had done ST in undergrad and was already far more seasoned than I was. Here we are, almost 10 years later still supporting one another.  I went into my materials and threw together a readers theatre version of Oedipus as well as a play writing template and rubric. 

Hi Kathleen: 

This is one of my favorites do read aloud- it is a really easy version of the play and follows the dramatic structure.

A play should have: 

inciting incident

rising action

climax

falling action 

denouement (in theatre- this is the resolution- we don't use the R word though)

To which she replied: 

You're amazing! Thank you!

 This is what my teacher training gave me: COMMUNITY.

Meredith and Kathleen! Summer 2015

In undergrad, I briefly thought about teaching.  A family member advised me to study what made me happy because I could always go back to school to become a teacher.  To be honest, I never thought it would happen: becoming a teacher.  I was so done with school after 5 years of undergrad that I was ready to just have my career.  This is what I did for a spell. But teaching called me back and in the fall of 2006 I started my MA in Educational Theatre and English at New York University. My program trained me well.  I felt confident leaving theory and moving into practice.  I, as all teachers are, was in for a rude awakening.  

The first few years were challenging and amazing.  I knew I was where I was supposed to be.  I was extremely grateful for my network of teachers I had built while in grad school.  The community and friendship it offered served as the backbone of my teaching practice.  

With Erin and her daughter.

Some teacher-friends have gone on to create amazing humans and I feel fortunate for our history and know that no matter what I could reach out and support is there.  This is one of the best parts of my teacher training.  Longevity.   

My extended teacher family from NYU continues to challenge me and remind me #whyiteach.  The articles they post on social media or the sharing of the work they are doing in the cities they work in inspires my own work.  It is not simply about networking, it's about COMMUNITY. 


So when picking a teacher traning program, ask about the community of teachers.  Ask what life has been like for them after they leave.  Ask to talk to teachers about what the program offered them.