Goal Setting

I am not sure why, but I always have difficulty in setting goals (or at least verbalizing what it is and why it is that I want to do something.) I think that some things are just common sense to me so I have difficulty with the expression of goals. However, it is interesting that I always ask my third grade students to set SMART goals that are both long and short term.

S-specific

M- measurable

A-attainable

R- realistic
T- time bound

This posting will list three goals that I have for this semester that will assist me in becoming more effective in my professional role.

1. Learn more about the state and local policies that affect the schools in my district.   

I can be honest in saying that it is rare that I attend school board meetings that discuss upcoming trends and directives that are coming down the pipeline, unless it is a mandatory meeting. It is not that I do not care, but I spend a lot of time outside of my school, coaching students at an area high school leaving me little time. Meetings are held monthly. It is my goal to attend 5 out of the 8 meetings this school year.

2. Become more of an advocate for students and families that my school serves.

I have recently switched schools leaving one Fulton County Schools to teach in Atlanta Public Schools. We are in extreme need of advocates in Atlanta as we are rolling out turnaround schools. Many of the supports that other schools and systems have are missing from Atlanta. Programs that we had for years in my previous school are just getting to my new school which is a disservice to the families  and students I serve. 

3. Research grants

I have learned that many of the decisions that my administrative team makes is based on funding, not what has been researched based and a proven way to help the students that we service each day. I would like to research and write grants that will help the students, teachers, and administrators in the school have all of the resources that they need, and give them some autonomy to teach the students to the best of their abilities.

Final Thoughts

This quarter has flown by and has probably been my most difficult. It is interesting that this course centered around the influences of family and culture because this has been a rough time with my family and has taken a toll on my academics. I most connected with the reading from "The Spirit Catches you, and You Fall Down." This story brought to life how difficult it could be for people to understand one another when they do not take the time to understand cultural differences. Leah may not have been able to be saved by doctors, however, there were many times that she went to the clinic and was not given the help that she needed because of cultural ambiguity. 

I was most surprised by some of the findings while completing my course project on foster children. It was always my assumption that all teachers wanted the best for all students. In researching this group of students who may be considered the most at risk, it seems almost as if there is a "good riddance" attitude towards them. Foster children are general delayed in school because they are a transient bunch, but with a proper adult relationship, it has been shown that they may go on to live normal adult lives. Teachers, however, find this group of students difficult to handle due to behavioral issues and delays in academic achievement. I was surprised to find that there was an overwhelming number of foster students who are placed in special education for this very reason.

I would love to further investigate how having social emotional learning in schools may help children from diverse backgrounds perform better. A family member of mine became extremely ill during the course of this quarter and I know that I was unable to focus and perform to the best of my abilities. If a trauma affects me this much as an adult, it is difficult to imagine the affects that culture and trauma have on students' performance.

I would eventually like to be a math coach in the public school setting. There has been a shift in curriculum standards with the adoption of the Common Core and an emphasis has been placed on reading and word problems in mathematics. The takeaways that I have from this course inspire me to include culturally diverse readings for math. I would also encourage fellow teachers to examine the familiar and unfamiliar parts of our own cultures so that we are able to recognize our own biases before interacting with students and families.

Foster Care Interview

First, let me say that I am absolutely loving my course project on how being in foster care effects students' achievements. I identified two professional organizations who worked with providing resources to assist families who are dealing with the effects of foster care. My interviewees both said that personal experiences growing up made them want to do something as adults to advocate for children. Phaedra Boykin works for Georgia Baptist Children's Homes and Family Ministries here in Georgia. Though she was not a foster child, she spoke of troubles that she had adjusting to life with a single parent. Boykin recalled the lack of resources available and shared that she wanted to have a positive effect for children and families, especially those requiring assistance from the Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS). Georgia Baptist offers campus residential programs, group homes, community counseling, foster care, and family care programs. Boykin shared that the most rewarding part of her job was when children and families are able to complete the entire course of a program and share their success with others in hopes of building resilience.

One idea that both of my interviewees stressed was that the working hours outweighed the impact hours to an extent. This means that they are spending a lot of time helping others and making a difference, however it is difficult to see the larger impact. Which brings me to my question, do you believe that there is more of an impact if someone helps 100 people one time, or one person 100 times?

Course Project: Foster Care and Adoption

The relationships that children form with adults has a strong influence on the behaviors, goals, and beliefs that the child develops. It is my belief that the bond that a teacher forms with a student, generally, comes only second to the relationship that one has with their parents. This may not be so for students who have been adopted or are in foster care. The U.S Department of Health and Human Services (2015) reported that at there were 415,129 children in foster care at the end of September 2014. Over 116,000 of these children were between the ages of 5 and 10, elementary school aged.

The first thing that my supervising teacher told me before I entered her classroom as a student teacher is that "students don't care how much you know until they know how much you care (Watts, B, personal communication, 2011)." I selected this as my project for several reasons. The first reason is that, based on the premise from my supervising teacher, relationships are key. My interactions with children who are not living in homes with their biological parents is limited so this project will increase my knowledge base. Secondly, with an increase in standardized testing, I would love provide my future students and their foster families any resources or strategies available to better serve them. I believe that children are resilient, however I would like to be a change agent by providing outlets for students where they feel comfortable and may be able to cope.

I have many questions that I seek to find answers to as I complete this project. One is about the strategies to help students interact and form a family within the classroom. The thought of a traditional family with a mom and a dad has changed. Now students may have two same sex parents, one biological parent, or even living with an adult whom they have no blood relation.  I know that some assignments like bring in your baby picture, make a mother's/ father's day card, and family tree projects may need to be avoided, but I would also like to know what biases general teachers have in assignments that may be offensive.

References
Children's Bureau An Office of the Administration for Children & Families. (September 2015). AFCARS Report #22. Retrieved from http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/resource/afcars-report-22 on June 2, 2016.