Past Experiences

Since I have no real teaching experience at the moment, but I really want to blog about my professional start, I'm just going to write about what experience I do have. I think the biggest thing I'm bringing to the table is my ability to visualize. When Editor of North Avenue Review I had to transform the magazine and its content to make it something readable and sustainable. In order to make that transformation a reality I had to visualize what the end product was going to look like: 20 pages, creative cover, fun and engaging images, and high-quality writing about relevant issues to students. I had to then communicate with my staff exactly what this vision looked like and how we were going to make it happen. Yea, we had some rough spots in the year. Yea, we had to work hard. But that end product absolutely lived up to mine and my staff's expectations. It took hard work, but with that end product in mind we made it happen. Yes, there is always room for improvement, but I am proud of what we accomplished.

I can not wait to apply this practice to my classroom. I am well-aware that my students could walk into my classroom far behind their peers in more affluent, higher-performing institutions. I realize that my students could be overcoming enormous challenges just to get to school in the morning. My job is to visualize what the end of the school year could look like for these scholars, communicate that vision clearly, and then invest my students in that vision. This vision is one of success for every student in significant academic performance sprinkled with practices in leadership, communication, and civic duty. I may not know exactly how to make this vision happen right now, but I will work my butt off everyday to figure out what that plan is.