1. What role does school play in building students’ agency and identity?
I believe a school has a lot to do with how a person becomes later in life. We hear thousands of stories about how teachers change students’ lives. These are not made up. The culture of the school is very important in order to develop habits that will later teach them how to be responsible adults. I went to an elementary school that was considered distinguished in the State of California. I consider by elementary school the base of education that helped me go farther in my education. I was in an environment where learning was important to all of the students. If I wasn’t in this environment during my younger years I don’t believe I would have graduated college.
2. How aware are you and your colleagues of the impact our choice of words have on developing students’ agency and identity? Can you give examples?
I personally am very aware on how I speak to my students. I am a special ed. Teacher and lot of my students have bad home lives as it is. A lot of them don’t have very high self-esteem and are always down with poor confidence. I like to tell them on a daily basis that they can accomplish anything if they try their best.
3. What would you do, if anything, to make using choice words a more conscious and accountable school wide practice if you were the school leader?
We already have these in practice at our school the only thing I would change would be that the choice words are being enforced by the teachers. At my school we are told to use appropriate language. We have a few teachers who talk very poor to the kids and you can tell they are afraid of the teacher. School shouldn’t be a place where students are afraid.
4. What could you do, if anything, to make the use of choice words a more conscious and accountable personal practice as well as one embraced by others on your site? Are those things within your sphere of influence?
This can be very difficult in my opinion even if we told teachers who were talking poor to the students many of them would not listen to an administrator or other teachers. Many of the teachers have been teaching for years and are stubborn in their ways. I think a lot of people talk poor to students because this is how they were talked to when they were younger or they grew up in this environment. This behavior needs to stop in order for the next generation to act differently.
5. Commit to 5 things you are willing to do this semester that will make your school choose words wisely?
1. Be more aware of my language around students.
2. Make the students aware of their language.
3. Tell other teachers about the language they use.
4. Make a promise with the students to have a type of award system for good language.
5. Make sure is positive in my personal life.
I believe a school has a lot to do with how a person becomes later in life. We hear thousands of stories about how teachers change students’ lives. These are not made up. The culture of the school is very important in order to develop habits that will later teach them how to be responsible adults. I went to an elementary school that was considered distinguished in the State of California. I consider by elementary school the base of education that helped me go farther in my education. I was in an environment where learning was important to all of the students. If I wasn’t in this environment during my younger years I don’t believe I would have graduated college.
2. How aware are you and your colleagues of the impact our choice of words have on developing students’ agency and identity? Can you give examples?
I personally am very aware on how I speak to my students. I am a special ed. Teacher and lot of my students have bad home lives as it is. A lot of them don’t have very high self-esteem and are always down with poor confidence. I like to tell them on a daily basis that they can accomplish anything if they try their best.
3. What would you do, if anything, to make using choice words a more conscious and accountable school wide practice if you were the school leader?
We already have these in practice at our school the only thing I would change would be that the choice words are being enforced by the teachers. At my school we are told to use appropriate language. We have a few teachers who talk very poor to the kids and you can tell they are afraid of the teacher. School shouldn’t be a place where students are afraid.
4. What could you do, if anything, to make the use of choice words a more conscious and accountable personal practice as well as one embraced by others on your site? Are those things within your sphere of influence?
This can be very difficult in my opinion even if we told teachers who were talking poor to the students many of them would not listen to an administrator or other teachers. Many of the teachers have been teaching for years and are stubborn in their ways. I think a lot of people talk poor to students because this is how they were talked to when they were younger or they grew up in this environment. This behavior needs to stop in order for the next generation to act differently.
5. Commit to 5 things you are willing to do this semester that will make your school choose words wisely?
1. Be more aware of my language around students.
2. Make the students aware of their language.
3. Tell other teachers about the language they use.
4. Make a promise with the students to have a type of award system for good language.
5. Make sure is positive in my personal life.