Bonjour
My name is Dena and teaching is my passion. I believe that every student has the right to reach their own personal best and it is our job as educators to show them the way. I love learning, reading, and perfecting my craft. But mostly, I love sharing what I learn with other educators. I don’t have all of the answers, but I love trying things out and looking for a solution.
My history
When I was a student I was able to discuss, make connections, and enjoyed learning, while studying at home with my dad. However, I never performed well as a student since all of my assessments were written – my spelling isn’t great, grammar rules confused me, worksheets left me uninspired, and multiple-choice exams triggered my anxiety. I knew my stuff, but I was never able to share what I knew through this mostly silent, choke and puke type of activities.
When I became an educator I started in lower elementary, where discussion, experimenting, playing, and trial and error are naturally part of the learning process. Because of the interactive nature of this teaching style, I knew what the kids knew before I tested them, and if they weren’t able to show me on paper, I would pull them aside and we would chat.
After a few years, I transitioned to Junior High. I was so excited to teach social studies, it was and still is one of my favorite subjects to teach. But as I stood in front of my first group of students, I became everything I had ever been exposed to as a student. I lectured, wrote notes on the board, had lengthy written assignments and exams, and worst of all I became frustrated with students when they “didn’t get it”. I had taught them this, why couldn’t they get the answer right or understand the corralation between two ideas or events? I was miserable, as were they. This did not bring me joy, and frankly, I hated my job. I wondered why I was there in the first place.
The solution was simple, I had to be myself, I needed to be an elementary teacher in Junior High. I needed to make the kids move, we needed to talk, and work things out together. I needed to give choices and examples. My happiness and theirs grew, as did their grades and understanding.
Becoming a Master
If I could be a student for life, I would be! Learning is thrilling! And with every new resource, new curriculum and new book I read, I learn. This love of continuously learning has lead me to complete two masters degrees and collaborate with researchers. Not to mention accumulating a large library of educational literature, much to my husband’s dismay.
Going to conferences allowed me to continue learning from other educators and has inspired me to do the same. Out of the positive feedback to my workshops and presentations the idea of becoming an educational consultant started to percolate. It would take many years before the idea would come to fruition, but here I am today writing my first blog post introducing myself to you all excited to start sharing what I know.
My Goals
First and foremost my goal is to get everyone following to think about their practice. Through reflection, we make the most growth.
Secondly, my goal is to inform. I will summarize what I have read so you don’t have to, by extracting the most important and practical information. I plan on giving you tips and tricks that you can use in your classroom today, as well as some that are more complex.
In a nutshell, I want everyone taking baby steps, or the plunge if that’s where you are at, towards creating a classroom where student thinking is prioritized, valued, and fun!
