VI. Domain 4: Professional Responsibilities

In this field, assessment is everything. While it is extremely helpful as a professional to have pre-determined unit and lesson plans, one must always remember that the most important part of the job is to accommodate the students, not the plans. When I begin the day with a new lesson or a new concept and my plan does not go over smoothly in the first hour, I modify it. I ask myself if they are getting enough movement, if there are too many steps in the directions, or if the lesson needs more scaffolding to reach the learning target(s). When a lesson goes awry and I must modify it on the beat, it is imperative I keep a record of this so the same mistake is not repeated the following year. Keeping records is one of the main behind-the-scenes tasks of this occupation that keeps teachers in touch with our students and ourselves. As the bridge between students and their families, it is crucial that I do what I can to communicate with the families of my students. In my student teaching, my cooperating teacher sent out roughly two emails a month to all parents. In these emails, my CT would attach a checklist of assignments students should have completed, expectations for an upcoming summative assessment, or a heads-up on future units that require some work at home, like a literary essay unit that relies on students to be knee-deep in a higher-level book. Establishing this communication with parents creates a rapport in the case that a parent might need to be contacted for disciplinary reasons or the teacher might need to be updated on a familial situation that could impact a student’s performance. When contacting families for disciplinary reasons, it is crucial to provide quantifiable evidence and to keep a record of this sort of communication. At the school in which I did my student teaching, we used MIStar as our online record-keeping. I am now proficient in using MIStar and keeping records of parent-teacher communication in this software that is dated and time-stamped, in the event that it may be referenced. Establishing and maintaining a communication based on positivity in which expectations are clearly defined creates a healthy relationship between parents, students, and teachers. Attached below are two sample emails sent to the families of my students during my student teaching.

Communication as simple as an email can go a long way. No one better understands the busy schedule of a teacher more than one’s colleagues, but it is still important that they are made aware of student performance in a classroom. I have witnessed my cooperating teacher send an email to one student’s six or seven teachers asking if the student is having as much difficulty in their class as the student is in her’s. If these colleagues respond yes, then my teacher moves forward and contacts the principal or assistant principal, the student’s counselor, and the student’s parents to schedule a meeting in which the student’s performance will be discussed and they will develop a plan for the student to move back on the track of success. This email communication also extends to planning, as many teachers work on different schedules with their own families and extracurricular commitments. The English Language Department at Liberty Middle School often scheduled Google Hangouts to plan as a team. Now that I know how to use this software, I see myself encouraging its use in my future position. My time at Liberty has given me so many valuable resources and tools to make this multifaceted career a little bit more manageable. As I continue to grow as a professional and as an educator, I will continuously reflect on my colleagues at Liberty, whom I admire for their patience and willingness to change. If I had to choose only one thing to take with me from Liberty, I would take the adaptability I learned and strengthened. I believe this willingness to change separates a good educator from a great one.

Sample sent on January 10, 2020

Sample sent on February 28, 2020