What's Your Why?

Last year was my first year as a classroom teacher. Prior, I worked as a credit recovery facilitator, academic interventionist, principal's secretary, and most recently, a communications specialist. Going from the business side of education to the instructional side was surreal. When I was hired as the Digital Design teacher, I prepared all these awesome plans and interactive projects for the students. I curated culturally relevant lesson plans, used familiar celebrities and content creators, and created example designs for every project. I was excited! After the first few months of school, all my plans had unraveled, and I was dead in the water. I didn't understand why my students were so uninterested, discouraged, and disconnected. Every time I would introduce a new concept, I would be met with "I can't do that," "this is stupid," or "why do I need to learn this?" This response from my students forced me to pivot and think more about who my students were rather than whom I wanted them to be. After a long and exhausting rookie year, I took the summer break to brainstorm a new approach. My students needed to know why what I was teaching was important and how they could use the skills obtained in my class in the future, whether they were college-bound or entering the workforce after high school. This is why I decided to choose ePortfolios as my innovation plan. With ePortfolios, students can collect and organize their artifacts, network with peers and teachers, and reflect on and measure their growth. These are all 21st-century skills they can use in most careers. I hope my students continue to develop their ePortfolios in high school, as they will be valuable assets for them post high school.