Four Lessons Learned in my First Two Months as a Teacher Leader

Things have been busy these last two months. Sometimes I feel like I’m doing too much and other times I feel like I’m not doing enough! This role is ever changing and because there is space to initiate new ideas and projects, I am constantly thinking of things to start or try out. There’s been a ton of learning in the last two months. In this blog I’ll reflect on some of the steps I’ve taken as a NYC Department of Education Peer Collaborative Teacher (PCT) and some of the lessons I’ve learned along the way.

1.    Be gentle with yourself.

This has been my number one lesson learned over the last few months because this role comes with a lot of moving parts, a lot of expectations, and only 24 hours in a day. I hold myself to high expectations, as I’m sure many of us do, and I have to remember that if something doesn’t go as planned or I’m not able to accomplish what I want in a set amount of time, I can’t beat myself up about it. I’ve missed classroom visitations because they slipped my mind, set weekly goals for myself that still haven’t been accomplished, and have had days where it felt like I got absolutely nothing done. Even so, I’ve had to remember that I’m human and can only do so much. Self-forgiveness is key to surviving and thriving as a PCT.

2.    Make a weekly schedule.

My first week as a PCT was so confusing I knew I had to make a weekly schedule that helped me see what was happening every period of every day. There are set periods I teach my 7th grade ELA class every day and there are set department meetings that happen every week but beyond that, my schedule is essentially wide open. I create a schedule every Sunday for the upcoming week that helps me prioritize my time and be most successful. Am I visiting one of my mentee’s classrooms during a particular period? Am I working on setting up our Center for Teaching and Learning another period? Am I in popping into colleagues’ classrooms to take pictures of best practice in action another period or debriefing with a group of teachers who visited a lab classroom? Whatever the event, I need to schedule it so I know what’s happening each day. I feel more at peace and have been more productive knowing how I’ll spend each day.

3.    Reach out for support.

Since I am the only teacher at my school in a formal teacher leadership role I don’t necessarily have a colleague who is in the same situation. I work better in community and have reached out to particular people for support. I found another PCT at a nearby school and went over to meet him and learn more about the work he’s doing. As he gave me a tour of his school we talked about ways our two school communities could collaborate. My assistant principal has also been a huge support to me in this role. We established a regular weekly meeting time where we can check in about how the role is going for me and the teachers I work with and any support I may need. Knowing that I’ll end the week with her has been helpful. Lastly, our school secretary has been one of my biggest allies. She has been instrumental in creating our school’s first Center for Teaching and Learning. I’ve learned a ton by watching her persistence and out-of-the-box thinking make things happen. Because I am the only PCT at my school it’s important that I consciously reach out for support from colleagues. It has made this work so much better for me and the colleagues I work with.

4.    Make yourself visible.

It’s easy to get stuck in my classroom or hide out in other places to get that email out or those classroom visitation notes finished but if my colleagues don’t see me and I don’t see them, I miss valuable opportunities to connect and see all of the great things happening in our school – and the areas where we can grow as a staff. I need to get better about making a point of walking around our school and popping into every classroom at least once every few weeks. I am always inspired by what I see and it also helps me recruit more colleagues to open up their rooms as lab classrooms, where peers can come and see good practice in action. I never travel anywhere in the building without my phone because it’s a great opportunity to document helpful anchor charts or teachers and students in action. I’ll share this with the rest of the staff through a newsletter or a quick email shouting out something awesome I saw. Being visible also spreads the word to my colleagues about the PCT role and I’m hoping that it will inspire some of them to apply for this role next year so we can have a team of PCTs helping improve the professional learning in our school community.

I know there will be countless lessons learned throughout the year. I’ve learned a ton already and look forward to growing this list as the year progresses.

Here I am debriefing a lab classroom visit with three colleagues and with a fellow Peer Collaborative Teacher at a neighboring school. 

My First “Week” as a New York City Department of Education Peer Collaborative Teacher

This year I am in a hybrid role at my school where I get to teach a few periods of 7th grade English Language Arts and support the professional learning of my colleagues. I am a Peer Collaborative Teacher (PCT) and so far, I’m loving it! After an initial 2-day week, we just completed our first full week so here are a few highlights from my first “week” as a PCT.

Building Relationships with New Teachers

This year I am responsible for helping support four first year English Language Arts teachers at our school. Three of them teach 9th grade students and one of them teaches 6th and 7th grade students. This week I simply wanted to start to build a relationship with each of them so we sat down one-on-one and started that process. I asked them the following questions and it helped me get to know them a bit more. I’m looking forward to getting into their classrooms and starting some of our coaching sessions.

• Why did you become a teacher?
• What was your best experience in school?
• What was your most difficult experience in school?
• How’s your year going?
• What is working for you? What are your strengths?
• What is difficult for you? Where do you want to grow?
• What do you like to do for fun? What are your favorite snacks? :)

Best Practice at BSSWA

I love my school and one thing we can get better at is sharing the good stuff that’s happening in our classrooms and learning spaces. In my role as a PCT I get to visit people’s classrooms more frequently than most so I’m privileged to see some excellent practices. I’ve started taking pictures of the good things I see and sending them out to the staff as a “Best Practice at BSSWA.” I’ve only sent one so far but I’ve asked the staff to snap a pic or take a video of something great happening in their own classrooms or someone else’s to be shared.

Collaborating with other staff members

As a PCT, I’m focused on supporting the professional learning and growth of our staff. This week I had time to sit with our Dean of Students to apply for a grant to support our staff in developing and sustaining culturally responsive practices. In my full-time teacher role all of this work would have had to be done afterschool or during another time-constrained period. In my new role, I could allot a period during the day over the course of a few days to collaborate on the application. Precious time that more teachers need!

Creating the Bronx Studio School for Writers and Artists’ Center for Teaching and Learning

While my principal and I were discussing my new role over the summer we brainstormed an idea for our school to create a Center for Teaching and Learning where staff could come to share best practices, get advice from colleagues, hear guest speakers, find helpful resources and research, and grow and develop as professional educators.

I presented the concept to our staff at the very beginning of the school year and sent a survey out soon after to hear what types of programming and resources people wanted and what they wanted the space to physically look like. Everyone had wonderful ideas and it’s now our job to make it happen. Some of their survey results are below and they remind me how important it is for educators to have a space where they feel safe to take risks, where they feel connected to others in the work, and where they can learn, reflect, and grow. I’m excited to see how the space manifests and what it will create for our school’s community of teachers and learners.

QUESTION: Are there specific professional resources would you like in The Center? If we don't have them we may be able to order them.

“Any Professional published resources that deal with Urban Education, dealing with African American and Latino Boys (Pedro Noguera, Dr. Steve Perry, etc.), and building self-esteem in girls in Mathematics and Science.”

“Anonymous ways to ask for/give feedback and support.”

“I would like to have more resources around ENL, SPED and literacy in content areas.”

QUESTION: What would you like the space to physically look like or include? What is your dream learning space?

“I think the space should be cozy and bright. Comfortable seating, moveable/stackable tables or trays to maximize the space, maybe some plants, artwork...”

“Comfortable seating, whiteboard wall, PD opps posted, best practice board.”

QUESTION: Is there anything else you want to be considered as we build BSSWA's first Center for Teaching and Learning?

“Let it be a safe space to talk about our struggles and a place to take chances.”

"Our understanding of who was and was not a good student were rooted less in experiences with urban students and more on our perception of them, which were largely based on a flawed narrative." I say all that to say it is gravely important that we approach teaching and learning with the least amount of bias; sometimes it gets in the way of us doing our best job. Training/workshop on this could be helpful! :)

Mindful Mornings

60% of the staff members surveyed said they’d like the Center to host mindfulness sessions for staff to participate in. We have one particular member of our school team who is a mindfulness practitioner and they volunteered to facilitate the session so we started a 10-minute mindfulness sit on Wednesday mornings just before our students enter the building to set the tone for the day. We had our first one last week and it was a peaceful way to start a day of teaching and learning at BSSWA.

I’m grateful for this opportunity to teach and learn in my school building. I'm excited to see how our work progresses and the impact it has on our students, our staff, our families, and our larger community. 

Does your school have a PCT or another teacher leader role? If so, what advice do you have for me and my colleagues as we embark on this journey? 

The Bronx Comes to Broadway!

Today 51 of my students and I got on our feet! We laughed, cried, sang, danced, learned, loved and thoroughly enjoyed “On Your Feet,” the Broadway musical about Gloria Estefan’s life and career. We were fortunate enough to be part of the Theatre Development Fund’s (TDF) Stage Door program, which gave us the opportunity to see the show this afternoon with an audience of 1,600 students from across the tri-state area. It was an incredible experience that moved me in many ways. I’ve never been to a Broadway show with my students before and for almost all of them, it was their first Broadway experience. What a blessing to be part of their special day!

Seeing the show was a phenomenal experience but what made it even more powerful was that TDF connected us with an artist-in-residence – the gifted singer and actor Rachel Kara Perez! – who visited our classroom for three sessions to prepare us for the show. She created a space for us to explore the rhythms, lyrics, and themes of Gloria Estefan’s music. She facilitated opportunities for my students to reflect on their dreams and the dreams their parents have for them. She taught us the history of Afro-Cuban music. Just as important, she connected with my kids, shared her story, and blessed us with her beautiful voice.

Our experience with Rachel made today’s experience that much greater. My students were genuinely excited and sang along as the show opened with “Conga.” One of them leaned over and asked me when the bus accident was coming. One of my students who had seen the show before through a summer program said that today’s show was “so much better” than the first time he saw it. I asked him why and he couldn’t place his finger on it. I would wager that our work with Rachel Kara helped him make more meaning of the show and a deeper connection to its music and message.

All students need to be exposed to, immersed in, and creating their own art. What a gift to have programs like TDF and Stage Door to bring the Bronx to Broadway. Shout out to all of the artists who blessed the stage this afternoon and all of the artists who enjoyed the magic from the audience. Shout out to Ginger and the entire Stage Door crew for hearing Gloria’s call to get up and take some action! You created an unforgettable experience for all of us and we are forever grateful.

Our Young Folks Know

My students just gave me life.

In these crazy times of…who knows what, I am often thinking about how my students and their families will be affected by the actions and policies of the egotistic, self-absorbed, unqualified person who was just sworn in as president of the United States. How will their lives be impacted? Who will stick up for them? How will they resist? How can I support?

Of course I am not the only one who sees the madness of what we’re working with. One of my students just put it all front and center in an argumentative writing pre-assessment that they penned last week.

The piece gave me life. Even though it's accuracy is dark, it made me laugh out loud and reminded me that our youth know. They get it. They can see clearly how screwed we are as a nation with this person in one of our most powerful offices.

J’s writing speaks for itself. After a weekend of marching it was powerful to read this piece and know that even though we may be doomed, we are organized, we are powerful, and nothing is permanent.

I’m so grateful for my students. They keep me on my toes, keep me grounded and remind me everyday that our work as educators – educators who stick up for all of our students – is so important.

Shout out to J for giving their teacher some life on a rainy New York City Monday night.  

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The text of J’s pre-assessment is in italics below. I appreciate their attempt at a counterclaim. We’ll have to work on that in this unit. :) 

            I think that America is doomed. Especially, with a new president, Donald J. Trump. I think that if more people have voted, Trump wouldn’t be president. America is kinda like a child of newly divorced parents, but his parent are fighting over it’s custody. But America kinda just wants to go with grandma. These are some reasons I think Donald J. Trump is going to be the worst president ever.

            Donald J. Trump claims he is not racist. Question, if someone dislikes a race or nationality, what word would you use to describe him? Racist. Donald J. Trump has talked negatively about Mexicans and Muslims. “Mexicans are drug dealers.” “Muslims are terrorists.” Donald J. Trump also claims he will build a wall to keep Mexicans out. He claims that he will talk to them and make them build it and pay for it.

            Another reason, Donald J. Trump will be one of the worst presidents is that he is very childish and rude. In some videos I’ve seen he is shown screaming at people to “Shut up” and some other things I cannot write.

            Some people disagree with me because they might have the same views as Donald Trump.

            “Make American Great Again.” Lies. America is DOOMED. 

Trump, Wallace, Clinton, and Lewis

Today in my 6th period English class a few of my seventh grade students compared Donald Trump to George Wallace and Hillary Clinton to John Lewis. Yes, that George Wallace – the governor of Alabama who at his 1963 inauguration speech said “Segregation today…segregation tomorrow…segregation forever.” And yes, that John Lewis – the civil rights activist who at the age of 23 was the youngest speaker at the March on Washington where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous “I Have a Dream Speech.”

Last week we read Lewis’s 1963 speech where he opens with the line “We march today for jobs and freedom, but we have nothing to be proud of, for hundreds and thousands of our brothers are not here, for they are receiving starvation wages or no wages at all.” We worked to determine his point of view on segregation and analyze the development of that point of view over the course of his speech. My students identified that he was clearly against segregation and that he used a variety of strategies to get his point across. He shared horrific examples of how the evils of racism and oppression left African Americans defeated, beaten and dead. “What did the federal government do when local police officials kicked and assaulted the pregnant wife of Slater King and she lost her baby?” They noted that he worked to appeal to a diversity of constituents - sharecroppers, police officers, whites who were pro-integration, legislators, all of America.

Today we read excerpts from George Wallace’s 1963 Inaugural Address. Some of my students had already recognized Wallace’s name from Lewis’s speech where he stated, “They're talking about slow down and stop. We will not stop. All of the forces of Eastland, Barnett, Wallace, and Thurmond will not stop this revolution.” A few of my students asked if Wallace was white. I told them he was. They asked if he was for or against segregation. I told them they’d have to read his speech to find out. After we read a few excerpts from the speech including one where Wallace stated, “Let us rise to the call of freedom loving blood that is in us and send our answer to the tyranny that clanks its chains upon the South. In the name of the greatest people that have ever trod this earth, I draw the line in the dust and toss the gauntlet before the feet of tyranny . . . and I say . . . segregation today . . . segregation tomorrow . . . segregation forever,” we paused to state what we’d learned about Wallace’s point of view so far. One of my students raised his hand, and with a look of surprise and shock on his face said, “He’s a complete racist.”

It’s no surprise to me that my students connected Trump to Wallace. They both use fear to rally support for their divisive ideas. They both believe, whether stating it explicitly or implicitly, that white Americans are superior to the rest of us. They both see a departure from the 1950s "Leave It To Beaver" white Americana as a threat to our country. This all seems obvious. Two white men in positions of power who abuse that power to oppress others.

What did blow my mind was that in the teacher’s notes for this lesson the writers of the Core Ready curriculum stated that in today’s classrooms it may be difficult for our students to understand that someone could hold the beliefs of Wallace - that someone could be as divisive, as disrespectful, and as derogatory as he was. “Although it can be difficult for readers in the 21st century to understand the thinking of someone like George Wallace at that point in American history, it is important to expose students to those whose beliefs are different from their own and encourage them to try to understand the historical context of those beliefs.”  

Sadly, my students don’t have to read a 1963 speech from a white segregationist to be exposed to beliefs that are different from their own. They simply have to check their Twitter feed to see Trump’s latest hate-filled rant. They can watch the news to learn that he believes Mexicans, like them, are rapists and Muslims, like them, are terrorists. They can listen to an audio recording of him to know that he believes women and girls, like them, are objects to be fondled by men and all Black and Latinos, like them, seem to live in “the inner city.”

The curriculum writers’ note to the teacher reminds me that a) this curriculum went to print before this presidential election began, b) we haven’t come as far as a nation as I originally believed, and c) sadly, there are many people in the 21st century who still hold the beliefs of George Wallace. I’d venture to say these folks are Trump supporters.

My students, their reflections, and their insights remind me that a) we are a beautiful people, b) it is imperative that we equip our students with the skills and resources to organize and create change, and c) the youth will lead us. They did when 23-year old John Lewis said in 1963, “We must say wake up America, wake up! For we cannot stop, and we will not and cannot be patient." They will in 2016 when my 12-year old student says “Donald Trump in the debate is like George Wallace and Hillary Clinton is like John Lewis. Trump’s trying to divide people with fear and Hillary is trying to bring people together.” We’ve come quite a ways as a nation and still have a ton of work to do. I’m grateful that in my line of work, as a teacher, I get to think alongside some of our nation’s best – my diverse, creative, intelligent, and inclusive seventh grade scholar activists.