“They might not need me; but they might.
I'll let my head be just in sight;
A smile as small as mine might be
Precisely their necessity.”
Working in a middle school in Van Nuys for the last two years changed the course of my life forever. I took the job as an after school coach because I needed the money, and I thought it would be an easy stepping stone to hop over. But the children captivated me, and I was hooked, even though the administration I worked under was difficult to deal with.
I'm a queer, fat, and neuro-divergent woman, artist and writer.
I've been asked to speak on media technology. Now, more than ever, media literacy is crucial to teach in schools. In a media-driven world, there is so much misinformation being spread across the internet and we need to protect our students from it. It's also important to teach them how to use media to further their own interests and points of view.
I'm a big fan of using technology to help students reinforce things they've learned, like using Blooket to review for tests. It's a fun and very customizable site to make quizzes with games. I also like Padlet for creative expression, writing, and work-shopping.
Hi Tina! Thanks for your post, I love the poem you chose to share. I think is a great poem for a future teacher. Thanks for writing about the necessity of teaching media literacy in schools. Especially as time goes on and technology becomes more developed and necessary in society, children need to learn how to interact with it and what its benefits and dangers are. Also, teaching kids about being able to form their own opinions about what they see online and in media is very important, especially regarding the rise of AI and fake videos/pictures on social media. Padlet sounds like an interesting tool to use for creative writing and brainstorming. Thank you for sharing the start of your journey to becoming a teacher - I like your anecdote that you originally just needed money and so became a coach but ended up falling in love with teaching and learning! I'm looking forward to reading more of your posts.
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