Discussion Responses Required - Urgent - 7-8 Hours

Hello, my name is Alisha Carrisoza. I am a fifth grade reading teacher and high school soccer coach.  I am twenty-one years old, and I am currently in my second semester of my first year teaching. 

In high school, I played soccer for a man named Tim Erickson also known as the Grinch (due to him making us run so much during Christmas break one year- we all threw up). This man pushed us to be the best person… you read correctly… not player, not top scorer, not even the soccer team with the most wins… He taught us, encouraged us, and expected us to be the best person we could absolutely be. I played soccer during the most challenging time in my life and because of this man… I became a teacher and a coach. 

I chose to become a teacher because I wanted a career where I could embrace my talents and positively influence individuals. You see, I am incredibly good at talking. I don’t meet a stranger. I knew my entire life I wanted a job where I could talk ALL THE TIME. I’m good at it. I also wanted a job to show God’s love like it had been shown to me. I didn’t care what I taught. I just wanted to teach, show, and really love kids. I wanted to do this because even though my home was almost perfect… my soccer coach showed me real, raw, unconditional love - always. I wanted to be that for someone. 

Yes, I teach screaming, hormonal little rays of sunshines. We are loud. We are crazy, but we are brilliant. My goal as a teacher is to raise functional members of society along with including some of the Mississippi standards. Something I would like to research more is state testing in schools and their effects on student learning. As a teacher, I feel like state testing is very limiting to teachers and students. I feel as a teacher that by me teaching students how to take a test - I am failing them as an educator. I refuse to just teach the test like my administrator wants. I refuse to limit myself and judge myself based on a test made by people who are not educators, who do not make an equal test, and who do not care what those students learn. As an educator, I find it quite confusing how we give one test for all students, but teachers are required to teach multiple ways because all students are different. Even though this topic may not be as interesting to others, in my field, it is a topic that is quite appealing to the eye. The grant writer in this weeks video talked about how when he ask for money one time then he has to say thank you seven times before asking again. When teaching, I have to teach a topic forty-seven ways then explain to my boss why my students cannot pass a test that provides the information in one way. It is beyond frustrating. Therefore, I would love to continue researching the pros and cons of state testing for school districts, teachers, and students, because those tests really test the Jesus in me. 

Faith was an ongoing motivator in my career. I grew up being shown God’s love through my parents. As a child, I brought all kinds of people to my house. I loved that no matter who I brought, where they came from, or what their home life was like I knew my parents would love them like their own while they were at my house. I WANTED TO BE THAT. Now, I am. My classroom is a family room- full of love. With faith and with God  I am able to pour into these kids a love some have never seen. There is no greater feeling then showing, teaching, and helping a child believe in love.