“Teaching is a huge part of my identity.” - Center for Inspired Teaching

An Inspired Teacher Talk
Inspired Teacher Talks are glimpses into the work educators are undertaking during this extraordinary year. Their voices give us a picture of what life is like on the front lines right now. As reminders of the resilience teachers bring to the work, they offer us hope for the future. Interested in sharing your story with us? Fill out this form and we’ll be in touch.

Cheyenne Gartin is a teacher at Paul Public Charter school and she joined us for our October 1 Speak Truth session with the theme, “The Impact of Trauma on Mental Health.” At one point during the conversation, when students realized a teacher was present, they paused to ask her about how she was doing during the pandemic. The quotes below are from the insights she shared.

This is image is from the avatar Ms. Gartin uses online.

The Challenges of Teaching Virtually

When the pandemic began, I worked at an elementary school and I just knew that I wanted to work with high school students. So I took the leap of faith and transitioned to working at a high school. It’s been a bit of a Catch-22 because my classroom has always been a second home for my students. You walk in, everyone always has the same comment. ‘It smells so good in here!’ It’s because I invest in Glade plugins, snacks for my students. I have a tea kettle there. Everyone knows that my classroom is a second home. But now school is virtual, and I can’t really provide that for my students.

Teaching is a huge part of my identity. If I wasn’t a teacher what would I be? But as a teacher, I’m burnt out. And I know students are too. We don’t want to break your spirits. I’m trying to be understanding as well as maintaining my expectations and pedagogy for students. But it’s hard. I am trying my best. I try to come with 100% energy every day. I try to come with understanding each time I meet with my students.

Now is the time and the opportunity for us to create a better school experience for students. But instead we do what we always do and we just do what we know. We’re missing the opportunity that this unfortunate pandemic has created. This was the time for actual change.

Noticing what Students are Facing

It breaks my heart to know that several of my students have jobs that prevent them from participating fully in school. This pandemic caused their parents to lose their positions and they’ve had to step up. They’re 16, 17, 18 years of age and they’re going to work at Safeway, or clean homes, or do hair, whatever it is, in order to make some sort of income. But here I am, working from home. I’m working from the safety of my home. I’m able to follow necessary guidelines as opposed to my students who put themselves at risk by taking public transportation in order to get to their jobs to provide for themselves.

I am teaching students who are experiencing homelessness. And that affects what they can do in a virtual learning environment. While others’ home life may not be ideal. Another student expressed, “School was a safe haven and that’s been taken from me. When are we going back into the building?” She wasn’t concerned about her health. She was just like, “My priority is my grades and I’m slipping because I’m not connecting.”

Establishing Trust from a Distance

It’s so much easier for a student to just log off and say it was their computer. It’s so much easier for a child to just disengage completely and keep their cameras off and keep their mics muted and not participate. But they still need that safe space and the challenge is creating that virtual safe space for them.

I tell my students, I teach because I want to be able to have conversations with you and I want you to be able to take these conversations and be able to have the tools you need so you can go to the college of your choice. I want to help prepare you so you can enter into any room and feel as though you fit in. Or if you feel uncomfortable, I want you to be able to advocate for yourself.

Lag time is real. It’s one thing for me to give time as a SPED teacher for my students to process what I’m saying. It’s another for me to realize that their computers are moving slow. It’s not that they’re not engaged. Their computers are moving slow. Knowing that, I put that in the chat to a student recently. I wrote, “lag time is real, I totally understand.” I said, “turn off your camera and you’ll reduce the lag time.” That established trust within our classroom. They knew that I trusted that when their camera was off they could still be present. I knew how enthusiastic this student was about the lessons because he kept turning his camera on during a lively discussion to say, “No! I disagree! I disagree!”

Connecting with Your Own Humanity

In a recent conversation with a colleague she cautioned me to think about what would happen if I get sick. I said, “No that’s not for me. I don’t get sick. I go to work. I’m a teacher. Teachers don’t get sick.” But this conversation made me realize, no, you’re human. You need to be careful also.

A teacher at my school recently made the suggestion that we get together in person. She said, “I’m really big on social distancing, but would you want to meet up and go for a walk?” I said, “Sure! I haven’t done that in awhile. Let’s see what outside is like!” And it was truly an experience. I was like, “Oh, this is what it’s like to people again. Huh. This is amazing. This is what an in-person conversation is. You look so different from the neck up without a box around your face! This is, wow. So people still wear shoes? you’re not wearing pajamas!”

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.