It’s All About the Kids

 

As I sit here at home with a warm cup of chai tea I reflect on how lucky I am. First I’m lucky to have a kind, loving boyfriend who supports my new endeavor of blogging by making me tea while I continually type and erase. Secondly, I am lucky with my new job this year as an Instructional Coach in Woodridge, Illinois. I loved teaching and loved making my classroom a place that was all about the kids. A place where kids were safe to take risks, explore their passions, create projects, be silly, take care of our class, become problem solvers, think critically, ask questions of one and other, support each other, and take ownership over their learning and their classroom. I was scared to leave this safe environment I called home.

My leap of faith and move from Arizona to Illinois and from teaching to coaching has been a whirlwind. However, my focus has not wavered. This job is about making learning for kids the best it can be. I am so lucky to work with teachers, coaches, and administrators who are choosing to continuously learn and grow for the betterment of the kids in their classrooms and schools. The teachers I work with everyday are choosing to continually grow and collaborate around  many subject areas in Professional Learning Communities from math enrichment, reader’s notebooks, number talks, backwards mapping, and formative assessments (just to name a few) so that their students will get the best education possible. Together our work on how to improve learning for the growth of our kids is exciting and keeps me inspired.

Through March I will be talking about the great work happening around me, which focuses on what the kids are doing. Because at the end of the day, what is education about?

It’s all about the kids.

I’m participating in Slice of Life Story Challenge every day in March! Check it out at https://twowritingteachers.wordpress.com/