Advice for future teachers:
The biggest lesson I have learned so far in my first year of teaching is how to advocate for my students. By choosing to be a teacher, you are choosing to be a voice for your students in order to help them be successful socially, emotionally, and academically. At Messiah, we talked extensively about what it means to be an advocate for our students, but putting that into practice can be intimidating as a first year teacher. My advice for future teachers would be to form relationships with the other professionals in your building. Get to know your administrators, your paraprofessionals, your specialists, your guidance counselor, your ESL teacher, your special educators, etc. so that when the time comes, it is easier to be transparent with them and ask for their help. Most importantly, trust yourself and your expertise! Trust that you know what your students need and do what you can to help them be the most successful they can be.