…When I was engaged in school, my mind wandered during lessons to how I thought school should be redesigned – the curriculum, the schedule, the physical space, the way it was decorated, the opportunities for extracurricular activities, inclusion, the list goes on. I wanted to know why we had to study what seemed like abstract Math and Science rather than learning about personal finance and relatable topics such as weather, etc. I thought it was sad that there were so many artistic, musical, athletic, and mechanical kids who didn’t feel good about themselves but only because their talents weren’t valued at school. I understood that I “should” go to college because I was good at school but that seemed like a world for other people and I didn’t know how to access it.
I thought a lot about how school seemed to be built on a premise of negative assumptions about kids. It seemed to me adults thought that we didn’t actually want to learn and had to be forced, that we didn’t have ideas or talents to contribute to our learning environment, and that we shouldn’t have a voice about what we learned. Similarly, school felt very institutional to me from the physical space to the way that we were spoken to which only served to reinforce my mistrust of adults.
I spent most of my time at home escaping in books. I was also the kid that read all of the time but never turned in any of the required book reports. I almost failed 7th grade Reading class when in fact I had read close to 100 books that year. The zeroes in the grade book and the threats that I would repeat my grade didn’t have any impact other than to deepen my shame. I didn’t begin to turn work in until an adult showed interest.
Looking back, I always was who I am today – someone who cares deeply about teaching and learning, someone who seeks relevancy in education, someone who understands that we won’t engage kids until we meet their needs, and someone who has a heart for kids in need of support.
“My Story of WHY I am a Teacher”
I do not come from a long line of teachers. I don’t even come from a long line of educated people. My mother was the first person in my family to earn a college degree and I am the first to earn a Master’s Degree in my family.
I do come from a long line of people who loved, valued, and believed in education though. Our values are transmitted in the smallest of actions. Maybe it’s not always what we model as much as where we place our attention…
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Nicole Biscotti, M.Ed. 