I don't accept the belief that a child can't do something, but I know that my belief in my students is not enough. I know that I must do whatever it takes to make them believe it too. For that reason, I work with each student on developing a sense of agency, or in other words, the belief that what they do matters, the belief that they truly possess the skills necessary to achieve their goals. Developing a sense of agency is the driving force behind everything I do in my classroom. Explicitly teaching students how to succeed and how to think for themselves in an environment that fosters engagement, collaboration, curiosity, and exploration is essential to developing this sense of agency.

 

Having a sense of agency goes beyond our classroom walls. I view parents as partners, from the start of the year. The lines of communication remain open as I send home surveys about their children, as we email about students’ strengths and goals, or as I update our classroom Facebook page about the types of questions they can ask their children to reinforce what we are doing at school. Together, we are a team, working to ensure student success.

 

In order for me to create a sense of agency in my students, I also look within myself...I am constantly self-reflecting. I understand that teaching is about research and change; researching the best ways to engage and motivate all of my students, and changing my techniques in order to do so.

 

Constructing a sense of agency starts with knowing each of my students, inside, as well as outside of the classroom. It means I see a classroom full of whole children, each made up of many pieces that I take into account as I'm planning and teaching. It means my students create individualized goals for themselves, while I model for them how I meet my own personal goals. They constantly self-reflect on how they’re doing, and I work with each of them, guiding them on their roads to achievement. I celebrate my students' successes on our wall of "Super Improvers;" a wall where students are not competing against each other for a goal that might not be attainable for all, but competing against themselves on their individualized targets. These goals range from academics to work habits to etiquette; skills they need to succeed.

 

Creating multiple opportunities to practice their desired goals and outcomes is essential to developing agency in a child. In our classroom, students understand the value of expectations and practice, as we practice everything daily, from routine classroom procedures, to how to work together for Fluency Friday. Every other Friday, after spending the week practicing a reader’s theater script or poem, students perform for an audience of community members. It gives my most struggling readers, reading their lines with ease and flair, the message that with enough practice, they truly can accomplish anything.

 

In our classroom, science and social studies are integrated into our readers' workshop. It gets children excited about nonfiction, and it shows them the bigger picture; how everything is connected. Students use inquiry based learning, while collaboratively working together on responding to reading and research. Students know that they are using different comprehension strategies to not find one right answer but to use their minds to discover all kinds of new learning. We call this being metacognitive (thinking about our thinking), and we apply these strategies to all areas of our day.

 

After reading many books on brain research and learning about the effects of poverty on children's brains, I have incorporated new "whole brain" teaching techniques into my instruction. You will see us moving often; using hand gestures to define and compare and contrast concepts, using our bodies to spell words, using one minute exercise brain breaks to refocus, and participating in many other kinesthetic activities. These activities increase attention span and engagement, activate all areas of the brain, and ensure that successful learning is taking place.

 

When you enter our classroom, you see students who feel safe, respected, loved and cared for; students who know that no matter what obstacles they are facing outside of our school doors, they have a secure, consistent place within our classroom walls. They have a place where they belong, a place where they are important, and a place where they matter. You also see me, a person who takes on many roles. I am their coach, their role model, their cheerleader, and their advocate. I am their teacher. I believe in them. I push them to dream big, and I give them the assurance and recognition in order for them to do so. Above all else, I look beyond their obstacles, and I do whatever it takes to not only ensure that they succeed, but that they have the tools necessary to continue their success long after their time with me is concluded.