Amanda Girdler

I started my teaching journey as a Teach For America corps member in 2015. Following my two year commitment I knew there was no other work in this world I was meant to do, teaching is my calling. I also knew that I’d found my home here at OKCPS. I love every single second of this work and I thank God every day that She made me a teacher. I started out as a Kindergarten teacher then I moved to sixth grade. Currently I am a fifth grade math and science teacher at Taft Fifth Grade Center at Linwood where I also am a sheltered instruction teacher. I am consistently blown away by the bravery that my newcomer students (students in the country 0-3 years) and their families exhibit everyday and am honored that I get to be part of their first experiences in the United States of America.

The most important work I do is support my students as they discover who they are and help them find ways they can grow into the best people. My hope is that they will make this world better than they found it, and I have so much hope in the incredible souls who I have had the joy of teaching. I also believe it is my responsibility as a teacher to work for a better world for my students. This means advocating for equity for my black and brown students, fighting to remove barriers that my students who are in poverty face, confronting racist and dehumanizing incarceration and criminal justice procedures to keep my students’ families together, demanding a true path to citizenship for all people who are without papers, and pushing for equality for members of the LGBTQ+ community. It is critical that I use my privilege to advocate for my students and teach them ways they can advocate for themselves and each other.