Hetali Lodaya
Breakthrough of Greater Philadelphia - Drexel
Science
UNC-Chapel Hill 2014

I've always thought of myself as someone who could teach. It can seem that simple on the surface - when you break teaching down into its component parts, though, your deficiencies become evident very quickly. Over the weeks I have tried to improve all across the Teacher Excellence Rubric (TER) spectrum, whether it was more clearly posting and reading the "Do Now", to not letting classroom management slide as students became more comfortable - and therefore more chatty - in my class. It is really helpful to see that information written down and quantified - that makes it all the more easy to work on improvements.

I think the skill that I value the most, however, is the ability, or the beginnings of an ability, to really have a conversation with a student. Not just hey, how's your day, but really getting to see what makes them tick. More than anything else, it's about asking the right questions - and really listening to the answers. Sometimes you get it right on the first question - sometimes it takes you five - sometimes it takes you five days, but if you're persistent, the reward is a connection with a student that is beyond measure. I see this as a skill I will be able to use in many, many different situations for the rest of my life, and my students will probably never quite grasp the extent to which I appreciate their patience as I learned. They are the true teachers.