Urban Teachers Resident
Washington, DC
I love working with kids for many reasons, one being how big they can dream –
their imagination stretches without bounds. And yet, sometimes their reality suppresses their confidence and prohibits them from believing they can achieve.
As an educator, I’ve had to grow in this role of a “realistic dreamer,” where you encourage and empower students to have big dreams and impactful goals, but every day we come to school and break it down into realistic, yet rigorous goals. Students must know they can absolutely do hard things and accomplish big goals, but it’s good to break it down and focus on milestones in between. I’ve been surprised at how much of teaching is building confidence right alongside content.
I think Urban Teachers prepares teachers who really want to be constantly improving their craft and are continually self-reflective, both of which are traits that will directly impact students and are contingent on student success. Additionally, Urban Teachers recognizes that teaching requires practice and teachers generally grow more effective with time. I think Urban Teachers’ clinical approach has made me hungry to constantly look for new ways to grow as a teacher.
While teaching, there is always a little voice in the back of my head asking me if I could have done that better or if my actions were producing the student outcomes they needed to be successful. I think that comes free with the program.