This was the start of my time taking over some of the lessons in the classroom at the beginning of my student teaching. The first lessons I would teach would be the SEL curriculum. This particular lesson was about positive messages to help students push forward, like homework or trying new things. These were the perfect lessons to ease my way into teaching as I took more responsibility in the classroom, they also helped me build relationships with the students. This made me think of Gay’s writing about being a culturally responsive teacher. This was an example of being a warm demander for students and showing them they can push themselves to do hard things. This was also present in gay’s writing when thinking about how to respond to students who might be struggling. There are times when we as teachers step in, but in most cases, the productive struggle is a hurdle they can get over and beam with pride once they figure it out. 

These messages were on the desks for about two months. They were a great way to remind students that they can do hard things and that they don’t have to be perfect, all they need to do is try their best. All students can rise to the occasion when they have support from their teachers. Every time they were struggling through problems I would point to their desk and read the phrase they wrote to themselves.

Strand III - Learning Environment

3.2. TCs create classroom communities where students' identities, cultures and languages are
valuable resources for learning.

3.3 TCs collaborate with learners to establish and monitor expectations for a learning community to foster and maintain a sense of belonging, agency, and collective responsibility for the
classroom

This was one of my proudest moments during my time student teaching. As someone who loves Dungeons and Dragons and creative lessons, this was something I felt called to do. The students in my class loved performing skits for their literacy lessons, and this felt like a fun way to incorporate theater into math. This was the joy that I had been searching for both for me as a teacher and for my students too! 

It felt like a perfect example of joy and helped me connect more to Gholdy Muhammad’s approach to teaching and learning. “If we can create rich learning experiences from desk objects and a box, imagine what we can create when we see the world as our curricular muse and involve students and colleagues. Imagine the fun and joy. We will see something unique and beautiful emerge” (Muhammad). This was my exact approach this these lessons. These lessons are tactile, unique, and controlled chaos for a math review. These lessons have become part of my teaching personality and because I have fun, my students do as well! These lessons have snowballed into the best large project I have ever created. They also showcase how having joy in lessons doesn’t mean you are sacrificing rigor, both can be present at the same time.

Strand IV - Planning, instruction, and assessment

4.3 TCs design and enact meaningful and responsive instruction in which alignment exists
between content goals, assessment and students' identity development, assets and diverse learning needs

4.6 TCs design and enact instruction and assessment in which students can develop academic language and literacy skills to engage with content and represent their ideas in a range of
modalities

4.8 TCs understand and apply humanizing strategies and resources to support students with exceptional needs, including disabilities and giftedness