Why Latinx NBCTs Matter, Today, This month, and Always
Hip-hop artist and educator, Olmeca, wrote a poem called, “They Migrate, We Graduate.” Those four words accurately captured so many of our experiences as Latinx, bicultural-bilingual-binational students and now, just as importantly, as teachers. Our families, just like our students’ families, prioritized our future possibilities and opportunities over many times, their own comfort. When I…
Delivering on our promise of equitable education
Fall is in the air and school playgrounds are hubs of activity where teams are formed and games are played. Imagine one hundred children lined up ready and excited to play. Immediately sixty are benched, and only forty are allowed to play. We would never allow this on the playground; however, this is what is…
Connecting with other NBCTs provides the support that Teacher Leaders Need
Like many National Board Certified Teachers, I am proud to say that I serve in multiple teacher leadership roles in my school and within our district. My most demanding responsibility is serving as the leader of our school’s brand new Literacy Committee. Our school-wide instructional goal for the 2018-19 school year was to increase the…
Who are American Muslims?
Since achieving National Board certification in adolescent social studies several years ago, I have felt a need to continue to educate myself and lead in my specific passion — religious literacy. One religious community that continues to face alarming amounts of discrimination in and out of the classroom is the American Muslim population. This summer…
Intrinsic Motivation: How to motivate little minds
Intrinsic Motivation. As a human, I feel it within my soul. I know the things I feel motivated to complete and the people I feel motivated to please. I have it —and I’m sure you do to—but how did we get here? How long did it take? Certainly we all found ours at different paces…
What is my Purpose?
“What is my purpose?” This is a question I seem to ask myself frequently, and if you are honest with yourself, I’m willing to bet it is a question you’ve often found yourself asking as well. While my answer is consistent, the certainty of that answer seems to change throughout the seasons. My purpose is…
How I found My Voice By Exiting My Comfort Zone
It all started the day I received a rejection letter for a job that, at the time, I was sure was my “dream job”. My husband encouraged me to complete this fellowship application that I had been pushing off and, as per usual, talking myself out of. I thought he was absolutely crazy. The application…
Sparking Passions through Service Learning
“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not,” is a familiar quote from Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax. The summer before I was a fifth grader, I was swimming at the beach when a loggerhead sea turtle surfaced beside me sparking my passion for protecting the sea…
Navigating My Career Pathway
Ten years ago, after earning the maximum professional development credits and reaching the highest class in our teacher pay-scale, I began to wonder if there was more for me. How could teachers in my situation afford the cost of continued professional development without financial incentive? To think that my current path, my growth as a…
C.E.O of your Classroom? Why not?
Some of my best memories as a child occurred when I was in elementary school. Since I was a child, community has been a large part of my life. I attended a community school that played a significant role in my upbringing. There were many activities and programs at school and church that encouraged participation.…
