Want to change the world? - Center for Inspired Teaching

September 23, 2015

(Photos: Jessica Hiltabidel/Center for Inspired Teaching)

This piece was written by 2015 Inspired Teaching Fellows Allie Morris and Richelle Chapman. Allie and Richelle are completing their residency year with the Inspired Teacher Certification Program, teaching at Capital City Public Charter School and Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School, respectively.

Want to change the world?

Sounds like a truly daunting task, right? We were fortunate to be invited to attend the Young Women Empowering Communities: Champions of Change Conference at The White House on Tuesday, September 15th to hear eleven young women speak about how they are working hard in their communities to do just that.

These women, the 2015 Champions of Change, are working on causes across the country and have deeply impacted those around them. Faatimah Knight raises money in her Muslim community in Chicago to help AME Churches in the South recover from arson. Meredith Boyce advocates for more inclusive technology for people across all disability spectrums. Katie Prior organizes fellow trumpet players to honor fallen soldiers by playing taps at military funerals. Marissa Jennings has developed an app that caters directly to young African American women. Each of these determined young activists spoke about finding and following her passion to become a true changemaker.

Champions of Change panel discussion

As we listened to these women speak, it started to make us think about our own commitments to our communities. Are we doing enough? On a small scale? On a large scale?

Thank goodness we found Center for Inspired Teaching and count ourselves part of the Inspired Teacher Certification Program! We have the opportunity to change the world, each day in our classrooms, now and in the future. By inspiring our students, we Inspired Teaching Fellows (and teachers across the country and the world) have the power to influence generations of change. How do we do that? The Champions of Change gave us lots of insight into what makes someone a leader, changemaker, and game changer.

(L to R): 2015 Inspired Teaching Fellow Richelle Chapman; Inspired Teaching Manager of Teaching & Learning, Jessica Hiltabidel; 2015 Inspired Teaching Fellow Allie Morris

Above all, the Champions pointed to passion as the key to being a changemaker. They encouraged audience members to go out in their communities and try new things, paying particular attention to issues that trigger curiosity, enthusiasm, and even anger. Once we find what we feel passionate about, it’s our duty to find a group of people who feel similarly— or create one if that group doesn’t exist.

One of the Champions, Yecenia, works in her community to help Latino and Latina high schoolers access higher education. When asked what advice she would give to young people looking to follow in her footsteps, she said: “Leaders are people who have strong passion and a strong mission. Go find someone who shares your passion and mission. Use each other to push yourselves. Empower each other to make change.” We feel like we’ve found those people in our 2015 cohort of Inspired Teaching Fellows, and we’re thankful to have the whole Inspired Teaching community as a resource as we all work hard to be the change our students need in schools and classrooms across DC.

Some of the other advice we and all members of the audience received from the Champions includes:

“Find what makes you angry, then find a way to make it personable, humorous, and witty.” -Meredith Boyce

“Part of leadership is failing. And let’s be honest, if you don’t fail you’re not working hard enough. You’re not pushing yourself. Our country is all about looking out for others. That’s what community means.” -Valerie Jarett, Senior Advisor to the President

“When we empower a girl, we change her trajectory, and that of her family and her community. It’s the key to peace and security.” -Tina Tchen

“If you don’t take a risk, you don’t know how far you can go.” -Yesenia Ayala

“Listen to the good ideas when they come.” -Faatimah Knight

“Your time is your most precious gift that you can give. Individual time. You may not see the impact, but the impact is there.” -Serena Auñón, American physician, engineer, and NASA Astronaut

“In our diversity is our greatest power.” -Megan Smith

We loved hearing from all of the Champions, and after learning about their stories, we were truly surprised that we hadn’t heard their names before the conference. One of the panel discussions noted the lack of media coverage on positive role models like these young ladies. We think that everyone should know about them and the great work that they are doing, and we’ll try to remember their words each day in our classrooms— “walk in your purpose and dream big.”

Being an Inspired Teaching Fellow means joining a movement to change the way students are educated. Learn more about the Inspired Teacher Certification Program and our commitment to cultivating changemakers in classrooms, schools, and society.

Micaiah Anderson

Community Outreach Specialist

As a Community Outreach Specialist, Micaiah is responsible for program promotion and outreach support for Inspired Teaching events and workshops. Micaiah has a passion for collaborating with community members to build-power and connect. She is an educator with a heart for youth and has experience supporting students fight injustices within their schools and communities. She has a BA in Political Science from, the real HU, Hampton University & anticipates graduating in May 2024 with a Masters of Arts degree in Educational Policy Transformation from Georgetown University.

AUTONOMY

"I want to have a say in what happens to me."

Autonomy is the need for independence; the ability to make choices, to create, to explore, and to express oneself freely; to have sufficient space, to move around, and to feel unrestricted with opportunities to exercise free will.

Brady Maiden

Outreach Coordinator

As the Outreach Coordinator, Brady helps maintain Inspired Teaching’s social media presence and supports the organization’s mission to connect with DC community leaders, educators, and parents. Brady has her Master’s in Public Policy from George Mason University and her BS in Political Science from Northern Arizona University. She is passionate about community, equity, and coalition building recognizing that learning and growing with the community at large is how we continue to be impactful.

What brings you joy in life?

I find joy in spending time with my friends and family and meeting new people. I like going to concerts and festivals, and finding new books to read.

The Learner’s Cycle, Wonder-Experiment-Learn, and the Teacher’s Cycle, Observe-Plan-Instigate, comprise Inspired Teaching’s approach to engaging students in inquiry-based learning.

When they are engaged in the Wonder-Experiment-Learn Cycle, students are immersed in learning. They take the lead in designing authentic learning experiences around their own interests and their school’s standards of learning. Each discovery leads to a new question which in turn leads to more wondering and more learning. In the Wonder-Experiment-Learn Cycle, Learn is not a destination or an endpoint; it is a deeper understanding, leading to a deeper wondering and new possibilities that create new entry points to further exploration. The cycle continues because what students have learned generates more wonderings that require more experiments that foster more learning – and on and on.

The Observe-Plan-Instigate Cycle is the work of an Inspired Teacher. While a student is expected to follow the Wonder-Experiment-Learn Cycle, the teacher joins them on the learning journey while following their own cycle of Observe-Plan-Instigate. This cycle ultimately serves to ensure an inquiry-based atmosphere is at play in the classroom.

Jaqueta Abbey

Teaching and Learning Specialist

Jaqueta is the Teaching and Learning Specialist for Inspired Teaching. In addition to her current role with Inspired Teaching, Jaqueta is a first-grade teaching assistant. Her background features a variety of traditional and non-traditional experiences in the field of education, including working as an adjunct professor, teaching summer reading programs to children and adults, and tutoring children in the foster care system. Jaqueta earned a B.A. in Communication Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and an M.A. in Interactive Media from Elon University.

What brings you joy in life?

Creative self-expression! In addition to my passion for storytelling, I love dancing of all kinds. I've studied belly dance, bachata, and Brazilian Zouk among other styles. I also enjoy glass fusing, crocheting, photography, and cross stitching. These art forms allow me to express myself and build connections with other people at the same time. I think life would be a lot less vibrant without artists and storytellers!

Michelle Welk

Communication & Marketing Specialist

As Communications and Marketing Specialist, Michelle is responsible for finding and creating new ways to highlight Inspired Teaching and promote its programs in order to expand and deepen the organization's impact. Michelle has worked in communications in an array of settings, from creative agencies to state politics to national nonprofits. She has a BA in Journalism from Temple University in Philadelphia and is passionate about education, access, and equity.

What brings you joy in life?

My son, the beach, making a persuasive argument and good food!

Max Peterson

Real World History Assistant Teacher

Max received his Bachelor’s degree in History and African American Studies from Boston University in May 2016. He has worked in museum curation at the Museum of the White Mountains in New Hampshire and the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Max has worked with young people of varying ages from young children to young adults transitioning to college.

Feedback and Accountability

We grow through feedback and an understanding that the quality of our work is a reflection of what we are learning, but the shift to remote learning this spring disrupted a lot of the tools teachers were used to using to evaluate student growth. How might we do things differently this fall? Participants in this workshop will explore ways to bring meaningful assessment into the virtual and/or socially-distanced classroom and approaches to student feedback that strengthen motivation, and build relationships and achievement.