Did you know Cindy has met with legislators in Washington D.C. about the education system? I was lucky to hear her expertise about laying down a framework for people in power to understand. She helped me gather my core belief into something tangible so I could I have definitive call to actions for the Colorado State Board of Education. She recommended that I encourage them to involve peers and to vote accordingly. It's all about sharing and educating, am I right?
One main thing she pointed out to me is that many education topics are centered around funding, so her helpful hint lead me towards doing more research about what I felt about better district equality and its relation with funding. I hope that my letter is realistic, exuberates a positive change, and is compelling enough to listen to. Cindy also talked about involving current Board members with the local community. Inviting them to Colorado State University for a presentation, workshop, or just to observe encourages them to be personally involved with their citizens. Constituents care which will benefit them and the state. After I mentioned the No Child Left Behind act, Cindy reminded me that the law was changed to Every Student Succeed act, but also pointed out that since it is relatively new, it might be good that I explain the new changes in ESSA in my letter, specifically how it should positively impact the education system. Using personal examples could be a great way to exemplify the issues with ESSA since the incumbents are not in the classroom anymore. Overall, my goal is the same. I want more hopes and dreams met through equity in the classroom.
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After reviewing my own touchstone moments in my education career so far, I evaluated what it would be like set up a classroom cultivating students' touchstone moments. One of the biggest cultivations I received was the chance to write without borders. Sometimes it is hard for students to work without structure, especially if they aren't used it, but I want my future students to eventually appreciate their potential in reflection. There are so many ways that teachers suppress students' voice, but I want to come up with so many ways that teachers cultivate their voice instead.
My goal is to hold debates, have student-led projects, collaborative conversations, and use voting to exemplify a democratic classroom. I see the value in voice during writing, but including students' voice for other logistical systems also has merit. Having those activities opens trust, interests, and an engaging atmosphere. I think these traits cultivate learning.
I have sat myself down in a classroom for the last fifteen years of my life engulfed in an education system that I had no control over. I stand here today and say I am going to enter the role of teaching so that my future class has control over their futures. In this position, I want to verbally write out reasoning as to why our education system could be better. I do not want to disregard the past because there is no use to that, but instead, analyze potential positive impacts and implement them.
I want to write a complaint letter so I can start to fully absorb what it looks like to define change. Naming visible, conceptualized issues can be difficult for one. But two, understanding the context behind those issues is a whole other ballgame. Writing this will be a good reflection process along with a satisfying ‘carry-through’ plan. As my friends like to remind me, one of my main personality traits is that I’m a fixer. I tend to be an optimist that wants to think of a way a situation could be better. Working through a complaint letter could help me validate who I am as a person. Ultimately, I was waffling between “complaining” about environmental issues and the logistics of my future career. I feel very passionate about the fact that our Earth needs to be taken care of respectively because it our home, classroom, and jungle gym. One of my goals consists of letting my students explore their learning environment in all its forms including the natural world. Nature gives them a unique opportunity to feel authentically connected to the world at large, making it more likely they develop an interest in their personal worth in association to a higher purpose of learning. Plus, Earth provides a valuable thinking place to see their life from a different perspective. Maybe learning outside will help them be less self-centered and learn to enjoy their surroundings. Maybe it will simply give them a peace that walls do not give them. Whatever their need is, I believe nature could be a silver-lining in the learning environment. The logistics of schools are hard to outline since they do vary from district to district or even school to school. All in all, schools aren’t getting enough money to fully care for their students. One of the problems lay in the fact that jails get more money than schools which is show priority unfortunately. Another issue is that lower-income schools get the left-overs when it comes to money since their standardized testing scores won’t be as high. Why has this blanket of tests crippled the education system? I’m hoping to dive into this. Writing a complaint is going to be out of my comfort zone because I have to admit to someone that I want my idea to replace theirs. It will help me develop my professional ‘stick-up-for-myself’ ability which is highly needed in an imperfect world. The end result of this letter will be entirely worth it over and over again. Here’s to a better tomorrow. |
Greetings!I'm Kelly! I like to find beauty in what might seem mundane to us over time and bring to life what we experience each day. Check out the About Me tab for an additional look at who I am. Archives
July 2019
Taking an image, freezing a moment, reveals how rich reality truly is. |