Alicia's Adventures in Media

Narrative Who am I? Connect to teaching life SLIDE 1 . I am a learner, a mother, a wife, a daughter, a friend, a teacher, a sibling, a community member, and a colleague. My relationship with education has not always been smooth, not as a learner and not as a teacher. My experiences have shaped me for better or for worse. I have learned that my struggles provide me with a very unique perspective on how to reach children. SLIDE 2 As an elementary student I presented with no unique needs, as far as my teachers could see.  I was easy to teach. I was bright, I was agreeable, I excelled in academics and the teachers liked me.  What they didn’t see was what I brought with me. What they didn’t know was what I was thinking.  They didn’t know me, they just saw me.   SLIDE 3 What they didn’t know about me could have filled a book. I was smart, really smart, but that doesn’t mean I felt connected to what was being taught.  I didn’t see myself as part of the community.

My Pecha Kucha 

I believe that students need to be in a place that feels safe to learn.  This place needs to be both physical and mental. They have to have food in their bellies, they need to have clothes on their backs, they need to be warm and they need to feel loved.  If they come to me lacking any of these things I believe it is my responsibility to meet these needs. I believe children need developmental appropriate environments in which to learn. They need to move and play and talk.  I believe they need a teacher who inspires them, supports them, and encourages them to be themselves.  I believe they need permission to ask questions and make mistakes and dive into what they are interested in learning.  I believe that with access to education all children can learn.  I believe that it is my job as a teacher to figure the best way to make that access happen. My project comes from my desire as a Reading Specialist to teach all children to read.  I teach children from varying socio economic gr