Demonstrate professionalism
STANDARD 4
ELEMENT A
Teachers demonstrate high standards for professional conduct.​
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Every individual has their own strengths to bring to the table and I was happy to be able to share one of my strengths with my mentor teacher and school administration. I helped them with Yearbook, a challenge in a mostly virtual school year. However, it's as important as ever for students to feel connected with their peers and still remember this year with all the memories they held. I helped create flyers, communicate to parents and students, and design the layout of the yearbook.
ELEMENT B
Teachers link professional growth to their professional goals.
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Every Wednesday morning, I attended optional staff-wide diversity meetings to engage in discussion about improving equity at Kinard. I was an active participant and shared my experience as a social justice coach in the past. The following document exemplifies my comments to one of my colleagues. She was asking for feedback about an activity she wanted to incorporate about student identity.
ELEMENT C
Teachers respond to a complex, dynamic environment.
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This element is the name of the game this year during the COVID pandemic. Just like all teachers do, I changed curriculum, accommodated for certain students, and reflected on my practice - all while switching between online, hybrid, and in-person learning. Hybrid learning relies on the internet and every teacher has had the experience of internet failure so in this one example, Kahoot was not working. I knew that this online quiz was not critical for their learning so we used the chat feature to practice grammar, achieving the goal in a different way. I had to adapt quickly and forgive often this semester.
ELEMENT D
Teachers demonstrate leadership in the school, the community, and the teaching profession.​
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Because I wanted to take advantage of my student teaching experience, I asked to attend administration meetings and have an administrator observe one of my lessons. I had a lot of amazing colleagues to learn from, especially in my seventh grade and English department meetings. In the following document, you can see where I contributed. I felt fortunate to feel comfortable enough to share my thoughts often and felt proud to take the opportunities to share my perspective. I collaborated closely with my core team which is a great benefit to the students. When we are working together, the quality of our teaching will increase.
reflect
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To be transparent, it was a tough semester for me personally and it's hard for me to admit, but I would have normally given more time towards community and school involvement. I was able to give my all each day in the classroom, but my goal as a full-time teacher is to connect more outside of school. I also value further education and enrichment opportunities, which is why I made it a priority to attend the equity meetings at Kinard. My mentor teacher was a great role model in how to balance work and home life while also pursuing additional roles that were not required of her. I plan to also sit between taking care of myself and working towards my professional goals.