Anna Preston
I am an AACPS: Teacher, Old Mill Middle South School | 2020 Teacher of the Year Honoree
“Me llamo Mara.” Oh, my goodness she did it! She spoke. Do I react? Do I praise her? How will her peers react? No, I can’t react. Keep the ball moving. Just act normal. These were my thoughts over about a millisecond of time during my first year as a teacher. Mara was a 7th grader in my class who did not speak. Despite her label of “selective mutism”, I decided from day one that every time we did a speaking activity in class, I would casually give her the opportunity to speak, just like everyone else. I started writing notes to her to get to know who she was as a learner and after earning my trust, she eventually wrote back. I made a point to talk to her, whether she responded to me or not. I shut down any kind of negativity towards her from her peers, yet still included her in each activity that we did in class. We made a personal connection. Now after 7 years of teaching experience with hundreds more students, I feel like this moment with Mara shaped my philosophy of teaching to this day. Prior to teaching, I worked as a waitress and my boss introduced me to Maya Angelou’s quote, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Having this quote in the back of my mind at work made me a better waitress but stuck with me to make me an even better educator. Effective teaching starts with establishing positive personal relationships. Knowing my students has helped to make them feel safe, happy, and confident in my class. Learning a second language cannot happen without taking risks and I strive to build a space where students feel courageous enough to be vulnerable learners in my classroom. I feel that my teaching style of personal engagement played a major role in Mara’s decision to speak in front of the whole class, a life-changing moment for her.
