Taking the LeadTo me, much of being a leader is about taking initiative. As a teacher, whether you like it or not, you are a leader in your classroom and in the community. This has meant stepping up and acting as an ambassador of the teaching profession and of the Mississippi Teacher Corps to those around me who may be less familiar. It also has meant taking initiative within MHS and MTC to serve in a leadership role.
Within MTCThis past summer, I was forced to step up and provide more concrete guidance to the first years after they were consistently not meeting our TEAM teacher's expectations in the Seventh Grade Math classroom. I sent a number of emails detailing what was expected on a daily and weekly basis to make these guidelines more clear, and I personally sat down to help the first years with any and all concerns they were having that others could not answer.
Within the CommunityThis year, in January, I was asked by a friend in Jackson if I would host some student teachers who were visiting from Hastings College in Hastings, Nebraska, to provide them with an alternative view on education in Mississippi. Two young ladies came to observe in my classroom and in Camille Lesseig's classroom. I gave them a tour of the school and took them out to dinner in Meridian. I also participated in a collaborative discussion of education in Mississippi later that week with the entire Hastings College delegation in Jackson.
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Within MHSAs a new teacher at Meridian High School, I was asked by our academic team this year to help with the Faculty vs. Student Quiz Bowl Match, where I served as a captain for the Faculty B team. (We won!)
Last January, I received a phone call from our Principal, Mr. Victor Hubbard, asking me to attend a Professional Development Workshop at Mississippi State University about PBIS strategies and properly using brain chemistry and activation to manage and motivate students in a classroom. Mr. Hubbard wanted me to report back on the Workshop to the school and work to integrate the lessons from it into my teaching style for others to use as well. |