Kathleen Soares
I am a: Teacher, Corkran Middle School | 2016 Teacher of the Year Finalist
Imagine walking into a room full of students and being greeted by the sound of thirty-three applauding hands upon your arrival. Everyone who enters my room receives a round of applause and a handshake by a designated student who will introduce themselves, and then share what our learning outcomes if for the day. Students are excited to learn in my classroom and are taught that kindness and caring go hand in hand with learning. I have built a safe community of learners where we inspire one another to learn, value each voice, empower each person and believe that together we will be successful. As my students often say, “We have each other’s back.”
Valuing student voice is paramount to creating a quality learning environment. Students are encouraged to share personal experiences, make mistakes, and help one another. We have built an inclusive and trusting relationship that fosters mutual respect. Empowering students engages them in their learning. I empower my students by having them make vital decisions such as, providing daily feedback on our class environment, determining due dates, and creating rubrics. I am not a sage on a stage, but a helper in the hilarious, in the sometimes scare, muddy, trenches of learning. I never pretend to know everything, demonstrating to my students that it is acceptable to make mistakes, as failure is only the first attempt in learning, and that learning is constant and continuous.
Learning can be a fun, exciting journey and I strongly believe all students can and want to grow. I coach students to success by giving them personal feedback, making clear the path to improvement, praising their progress and promoting self-reflection. Students know when I am proud of them and that I am their greatest cheerleader. Fostering achievement acts lick Velcro to the mind and creates avenues of learning where I can reach each child.
I believe in winning the hearts of parents as much as I do students. I communicate with parents through weekly emails to promote home and community involvement. Informing them of what we have learned, sharing moments that make us laugh, and highlighting the successes and failures of our data. Maintaining open lines of communication with all stakeholders keeps them involved in the learning process. This valuable partnership begins on Back to School Night when students and parents compete in “Are you smarter than a 7th grader?”
With a strong desire to inspire others to have empathy, develop student character, and build community connections I have developed the Homeless Outreach Program. Every Thursday, students assigned to after-school detention spend an hour either writing letters to the homeless or making sandwiches and bagged lunches for them. These students are very proud of their hard work and leave with a sense of pride for making a difference by helping others.
Entering my classroom and being greeted by my wonderful students, I feel a sense of belonging, as if I have just arrived home and all is right in the world. My philosophy on teaching is to love kids, love learning, and laugh along the way. Students will remember science because of how I made them feel and the excitement they felt as they learned some really cool science. This is how I educate; by creating a positive emotional memory that will inspire a love of life-long learning.
