Teacher Feature - Mr. Peter Leesam - Center for Inspired Teaching

November 17, 2015

This November, Inspired Teaching spoke with Mr. Peter Leesam, a retired special education teacher and alum of the 2005 Inspired Teaching Institute. The following is a condensed version of this conversation:

Inspired Teaching: Why did you want to be a teacher?

Mr. Leesam: Many of my friends and relatives told me that I had a way with teaching things, so that was one element I considered. The other motivating factor happened when my son was ten back in our old country – Trinidad and Tobago – and he wasn’t making progress at school. I thought that maybe he had special needs, so I asked a teacher I knew to test him, and the teacher said “no, he’s fine.” I asked my friend what was going on then, and he told me that my son was left handed and that he wasn’t getting the support he needed at school, so he was shutting down. Then, this teacher spent time with my son, working with him to get him up to grade level. Looking at what he did for my son really inspired me, so I decided to become a teacher.

How did you earn your certification?

I earned my certification through the DC Fellows program. I applied, not knowing how tough it would be to be a teacher or even to get into the program. I was blessed to be one of about 100 people who got the Fellowship, and I went to George Washington University and enrolled in a program to get my Master’s degree in education and human development. This program also included an extra three credits in special education teacher training. DCPS also ran a program, led by Ruth Mitchell and another gentlemen; they were special education teachers, and they gave us special guidance to prepare us for the classroom.

How were you connected to Inspired Teaching?

Center for Inspired Teaching advertised the teacher training programs they were running, including the Inspired Teaching Institute, and somewhere I also met Aleta, and we had a chat. So those were the first two connections I made. I was really impressed with what Aleta said and with their programs.

What do you remember most about your time at the Inspired Teaching Institute?

The Inspired Teaching model is a lot different from the traditional approach to teaching. Inspired Teaching makes you feel that you’re not restricted to a certain model. In every profession there’s an approach to training people for it, but some of these approaches are such that they box you in. The training I got from Inspired Teaching showed me that you have to think outside the box. You have to innovate and experiment. Even if you have training from your college or your alternative certification program, you can always grow. The Inspired Teaching training is so unique that whatever gaps there are in your training, they will help fill those. Then, they will help you add more skills and build your practice.

What did you find most fulfilling about teaching?

Results. As a special ed teacher, sometimes they’d send children to your class and complain that so-and-so has such and such behavior. I would think to myself, that doesn’t matter; I’ll build a relationship with this child. I think the way you relate to people – both children and adults – that’s the way they will relate to you. There was a student who came to my classroom who at first was very destructive. He destroyed the charts; he’d walk around the classroom and knock around chairs and desks. But after I taught him for a little while, he became one of my best students.

What do you think caused that turnaround for this student?

There’s that song lyric I like to think of – “what the world needs now is love.” When you show students and learners love, you show them that you appreciate them, and that you think they’re a person who matters. People respond to that.

Any advice you’d give to teachers today?

Teaching is not an easy job. But it is the most satisfying job you can have in your life. Because when you see children turn around from being non-achievers to achievers, that’s the greatest satisfaction you can have. I think God put all of us on this earth for a purpose, and if you can touch a life, then that is one of the most satisfying things you can do. Teaching offers you that opportunity.

What do you think was the most important skill you used in the classroom?

I would say thoughtful repetition. Not repetition just for the sake of repetition, but repetition folded into lessons that are fun and engaging. The Inspired Teaching Institute showed me as a teacher how to make learning fun for children. You have to find ways to combine the two.

Why is it important for students to be engaged in learning?

In my time in the classroom, what I noticed is that every child can connect in some way to the material. That’s what I mean about it being the teacher’s job to make it engaging and palatable. Children want to learn, and it’s your job to make that happen.

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.