Dani is the 2023 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year and clarified why in this conversation. She is dedicated to the quality education for every child she interacts with daily. She spends most of her time supporting the students who need it most. Dani acknowledges her strengths and weaknesses as a teacher and how that helped her find her best position in alternative education.
- Bias is all around us, even in the situation of handedness. Scissors were made for right-handed people, not left-handed.
- The students in alternative education have failed at every “traditional” educational opportunity and need to have opportunities created for them.
- Educators of all geographic areas have challenges; we must support each other.
- Our students face challenges, and we need to acknowledge them before we can teach them.
- It’s not healthy for educators to negatively compare one position or district to another. We need to encourage each other and acknowledge we all face challenges positively.
- Teachers cannot be the only audience for their work. We need to create authentic audiences for our students, and we legitimately need to set up that to be real.
- Ask them if we want to evaluate student interest in an authentic project. They may think your idea is the best, or the worst. We must engage with our students and let them bring their ideas.
Website: http://idontteachenglish.weebly.com/
Twitter: @CharbonneauDani
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