So as you may have heard, my super amazing sister is returning to the classroom! After two years of Teach for America in Atlanta, she made a quick pit stop in Cambridge to get her Masters in Educational Leadership from Harvard before returning home. Now she’s back at her alma mater, but on the other side of the desk. We are so incredibly proud of her and thought it would be fun to do a back-to-school interview with our newly minted Master Teacher! 🙂
One week down! Was it harder adjusting back into the classroom than you thought?
“The lead-up to it, yeah. I remember feeling anxious and questioning whether or not I’d be a good teacher. To some degree it’s kind of like riding a bike, but it’s a totally different school and they do things a totally different way, so there’s still a learning curve.”
Best and worst things of Back to School from this side of the desk:
“Best things are the newness of stuff. Sharpened pencils, having your classroom set up just right. Just starting new things, the freshness of it.
Worst things… getting prepared. You can get really nervous with all the pre-planning that goes into it.”
What’s one thing you’ve learned?
“Sometimes you think kids are a certain age so they should know things intuitively (i.e. not talk while someone else is talking, or how to unpack properly) but that’s not necessarily true. I learned I needed to really plan out how I was going to model what things should look like and sound like, so that’s something I’ll change.”
Highlight of week 1:
“Working alongside my coworker to plan each day and what we were going to do because I’m not by myself and two minds are better than one. She’s done this before at this school, so it was nice to pick her brain.
Also returning to my old school, but on the other side of the desk. So there’s a definite sense of familiarity but also a sense of novelty.”
What’s your favorite school supply you purchased?
“Mr. Sketch scented markers- I love those for making anchor charts! – or colorful flair pens just for anything… Correcting papers, anything. I love all the different colors and the felt tip. Nothing’s worse than returning a paper to a kid that’s a sea of red.”
What are you most looking forward to this year?
“I’m excited to do fun projects with the kids and have the liberty to do that. Not being bound to a certain scope and sequence but having the flexibility to be creative. And that I’m teaching a different grade. It’ll be cool to be with a little bit older kids.”
Congrats, Ms. Moore, on successfully completing your first week back at school as a teacher! We’re super proud and excited to see what joys this year brings you.
Victoria says
September 13, 2016 at 10:11 amAs someone who has watched Ms. Moore blossom over the years, I am so proud to see her back in the classroom. Talk about someone with a passion for teaching! I think she’s going to do such an amazing job with the kids and have no doubts that she will be an educator who, many years later, students never forget. Lovely interview you two!