Empowerment

Not really - but surprisingly close to the reality.

When I got my first teaching job, more than anything I was a frightened little Teach for America corps member, uncertain in my abilities to be even the slightest bit effective, and living in the Mississippi Delta, the poorest region of the country. But the prospect of having my own classroom, my own ship, which I could design and modify based on how the class functioned was empowering. Upon seeing my class, covered in a thin layer of settled dust and cobwebs, with holes in the walls and decades-old textbooks and a giant television in the back, stored in the room since the late 1990s, my optimism sank. Was this what public education looked like?

After we checked out Scarlett Middle School in Ann Arbor last week, my conceptions of public education changed dramatically. Freshly painted halls, stocked shelves, and lavalier microphones? It was a dream, and it gave me perspective on my skewed views. While I may want to return to high needs schools, this was certainly going to be a little easier than my last teaching job. Whereas the thought of asking for relevant technological updates was laughable in my modest Arkansas high school, I realize that in my teaching internships in Michigan, I may have more opportunities to branch out with interactive apps, gadgets, and websites.

As such, while I feel personally adept at using most things digital, I reenter the classroom a novice with educational technologies. I've gone as far as overhead projectors and Powerpoint presentations. But my mentor teacher has already mentioned his school's devotion to a bring your own device (BYOD) policy, so I'll probably have to learn more about smartphone and tablet apps if I hope to be effective this year. I hope to learn more about the tools that can focus, rather than distract, high school students, especially those that take advantage of the technologies most readily available to them.

Perhaps then I can reenter the classroom with more confidence in my abilities to differentiate lessons and make the class more interactive and dynamic. What's more empowering than that?