"...no education practice takes place in a vacuum, only in a real context-historical, economic, political, and not necessarily identical to any other context" (Freire, 12).
The preceding pages have indicated my efforts to teach beyond boundaries, through my love of learning, analysis, reflection, technology, adaptability, innovation, and keeping a global perspective in education.
Yet, at the end of the day, the question remains: what can I do to change the student's world? Teachers can go through a never-ending process of homework, assignments, and tests, but what are we teaching for the context of life? A good portion of students will never have to know the foreshadowing and allusions in Juliet's soliloquy, after they graduate. They will never have to know how to figure out the sine and cosine in a mathematical equation, unless they ascribe to appearing on Jeopardy. So why do we teach these topics?
Leaders are teachers who love learning. That enthusiasm is magnetic, and students will want to engage with a teacher who clearly loves his or her field.
Leaders are teachers who are not teaching to the test, but teaching for life lessons. Perhaps the students will never have to find a cosine again, but the determination and step-by-step process are the skills that should be favored as the goals of the classroom.
As an Instructional Assistant, I experienced having to advocate for a student with an IEP. I've had parent-teacher conferences with a parent who advocated for her son, who also had an IEP. I've helped teachers restructure their tests to accommodate students with special needs (an example provided HERE) and I have mediated difficult situations between parents and teachers when both sides feel they are in the right. This experience has provided me with the unique opportunity to be on both sides of the fence, and has helped develop me as a teacher who leads and advocates.
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