WATH "rhymes with moth" EN Statement of Inquiry

Statement of Inquiry

Where have you been?

Career wise, I was in the private tutoring world for 10 years. #expensive I had a crazy two years of job searching, substitute teaching, assistant teaching, student teaching, and finally part-time actual teaching. Then, I MADE IT! I was a teacher! I have been teaching for 3 years, all of them at Wakefield High School in Arlington, VA. At the end of my first year, I got tricked into teaching Journalism....then I found my calling. #JournalismisLIFE

What do you know already?

I know that I have no idea what I am doing. It is silly that they leave me alone in a classroom with 158 students. I hope they know what they are doing, but I don't think they know either. I think that is the big secret of teaching, no matter how many years you have been doing it, you really don't know what you are doing. Students change, philosophies change, policies change; all you can do is try to have fun during this wild ride.

Where are you going?

Nowhere. You are going to have to pry my cold, lifeless body out of my teacher chair, put me on a stretcher, and wheel me out of the classroom. It took me FOREVER to become an actual teacher...beyond that two years of crazy...I have been trying to be a teacher since I was a year out of college. I see myself running the school newspaper, running a writing center (THANKS, AMBER!), and running the TV Studio at Wakefield until I die. #lovinlife

What questions still linger?

How do I know that what I am doing is right? That it affects my students in a positive way? It teaches them what they need to survive life? How will I know? What can I do to become a better teacher for my students?

What can I do to help my school be a better school? What can I do to unite the English department so we can have more fun and feel like a unit not a competition?

Where do you want to be?

I want to be where I am. I want to stay there. I want to become more of a leader. I think because of my personality, some people think I am all flash and no bang. I am also grammatically incorrect at times, so that is not a good look for an English teacher. That can make people think I have a lower intelligence level than I actually do. #judgement I think becoming more of an unofficial leader (not a real administrator...I don't want THAT job.)

I guess...where I want to be in 5 years is Newspaper Adviser for The Chieftain for 2 classes and after school, running the Writing Center 4th and 5th period, and teaching one English class to keep current and in the department. I want to be where I am, but even better.