Teacher Feature: Ms. Merriam - Center for Inspired Teaching

This summer, Inspired Teaching Spoke with 2017 Fellow Eshalla Merriam to learn about her experience as an Inspired Teacher the program so far. This school year, Eshalla will begin her first year as a teacher of record teaching 4th grade English Language Arts at J.O. Wilson Elementary School.

Why did you decide to become a teacher?

I always knew I wanted a career where I would be able to help people. I went to college undecided and I was thinking about a lot of different fields. Ultimately, I had my first experience with children through Reading Partners and I was so nervous. I hadn’t worked with kids before, and I’m the youngest in my family, but as I started working with kids, I came to learn just how much they would look forward to our time, especially those who joined begrudgingly at first. By the end of the year, when I saw how much their confidence had grown, I knew this is what I needed to do.

What attracted you to the Inspired Teaching Residency’s model?

I graduated college with a degree in Psychology and I wanted apply to DCPS then and there, but it wasn’t possible at the time. I took a position as a Teaching Assistant and jumped around in a couple of teaching jobs, but I wasn’t leading a classroom until I started a position at a local charter school. I realized that although I had been independently developing my practice, there was still a lot of room to grow. I knew I needed to get more experience. Then, I discovered Inspired Teaching. When I first read the description for Inspired Teaching, I was blown away because it was exactly what I would have dreamed of, and it was real. I’ve talked with a lot of people who were specifically drawn to Inspired Teaching’s alternative approach, but I just really wanted to get into the classroom. Once I got into Summer Institute, I realized the philosophy would also really help me grow.

What was a specific moment at Institute when it clicked that this was the right program for you?

After the first day, I went home that evening and when I was asked how my day was, I started panicking. I thought that we just played games all day and I didn’t know how that would help me be a better teacher. I remember thinking, what did I just sign up for? But then as Institute continued, the Inspired Teaching staff highlighted how the way they introduced all the games had meaning, and that was what we were really learning, we weren’t merely playing. That was a light bulb moment for me. I was experiencing learning and not just having it delivered to me.

How have you grown throughout your first year as an Inspired Teaching Fellow as a resident teacher in the classroom?

For me, as somebody who had been in the classroom before, the Residency Year was just so helpful to be able to see different teaching styles and understand that teaching is full of challenges and there are many ways to approach them. Learning from and observing other teachers was reassuring and gave me the confidence to find my own footing. Everyone is finding their own path.

How do you plan on being a changemaker as you start your career as a teacher of record?

I’d like to make education more practical and applicable to students’ lives. Teachers feel really bound to the curriculum and to meeting benchmarks. While those things are valid to an extent, the standards can really pigeonhole you. This pressure can prevent you from acting on moments in the classroom that lend themselves to a great discussion. While teachers indulge in those moments, we shouldn’t have to see them as an indulgence. There needs to be more freedom to investigate relevant and applicable issues. Sometimes the pressure to move on is too present, and while sometimes is it appropriate to move on, I want to incorporate more freedom to investigate relevant and applicable issues with my students.

What is one of your favorite memories of school?

I’ve actually thought about my favorite memory as a student this summer. I was a really shy kid and at some point in my very early elementary age, we read Talking Eggs, and I just loved it. I could not get enough of this story. Without directly saying anything, I must have shown that I had connected with the story because my teacher recognized that I loved it and she gave me the book! I wasn’t angling to get it, but I was delighted. Every time I get the chance I read it – which I did this summer.

When you think beginning your first year as a teacher of record, what are you most excited about?

I’m so excited to have my own classroom and be able to take things in the direction that I like. I’m also excited to incorporate things from the residency year because I have so many tools in my tool belt now, and a line of thinking that my lead teacher brought me through and things echoed in our cohort. I know it’s not going to be perfect, but I’m excited to put these things into practice.

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.