School and Community Fall 2022

Now I cannot get enough of them. My friends now chuckle when I mention something I heard on a podcast. And, I am not just saying this since MSTA started up their podcasts again. But I am not ashamed to say that I have listened in! Looking back, what advice would you give to yourself as a first-year teacher? The advice I would give myself as a first year teacher would be to give yourself grace. It is okay to not know everything and to make mistakes. No one is perfect. Just like the students in our classroom are going to need second chances, so will you. What is the best book you’ve read recently? I absolutely loved Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt. Everyone needs to read it. What is the best piece of advice another teacher has given to you? Best piece of advice I have been given is to just love your students. When they know you care, they will learn. Subject: Special Education Number of years in education: 7 When did you know you picked the right career? I knew I had chosen the right career during our end of the school yearbook signing when I got teary eyed saying goodbye to my students for the summer. If I asked your colleagues, what would they say about your teaching style? My colleagues would describe my teaching style as having endless amounts of patience and a calm demeanor in tough situations. What makes you eager to start a new year? Being in special education, I have some of the same students several years in a row. I get to build meaningful relationships with each student and their families. What makes you eager to start a new year? I look forward to each new school year to plan how we can take their educational and social/behavioral growth to the next level (as well as all the creative fun and laughs we will share along the way). Julie Pagán School building: Soaring Heights Elementary School District: Joplin R-8 School District Grade level: K-5th

Matthew Matheney *finalist School building: Miller High School District: Miller R-2 Grade level: 9-12th Subject: Mathematics

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Number of years in education: 4 years When did you know you picked the right career? When I was sixteen, I had a sort of lightbulb moment. An idea struck me (more of a feeling, at that stage) for a school that would give students and teachers an opportunity to affect real change in the world around them. It became my life’s goal and I have never wavered in my dedication to the profession since. Of course I have ups and downs, but that vision is always smoldering in the back of my mind. Every step I take towards that goal just renews my passion for teaching. If I asked your colleagues, what would they say about your teaching style? My colleagues very rarely see me teach. I’m the only high school math teacher at my school and my classroom is at the end of a very long hallway. Historically, there have been days where I am so engrossed with managing my classroom that I never see another adult. The fact that I work in a very supportive district means that this issue cannot be unique to me or my school. It is a product of our current system, and I think most educators would agree it shouldn’t be that way. I wish my fellow educators had time to observe me teach and give me feedback, and I wish I had time to do the same for them. If they could, I hope they would say, “He has a student-centered teaching style with a focus on discovery and critical thinking.” Looking back, what advice would you give to yourself as a first-year teacher? My primary advice for new teachers is to find a piece of the profession that inspires them. Teaching is not easy. It will take whatever amount of personal energy you are willing to give. Thus, teachers need to find some wellspring of encouragement that will sustain their passion for the profession. Mine is achieving a part of my overall vision for education, namely a school that provides opportunities for students and teachers to create real change in their environment and the world. Generally, I can make small steps toward this goal in my own classroom, but larger milestones come every now and again. www .hlg.edu

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S&C FALL 2022 | 15