I am a K-8 highly qualified certified teacher from Alaska. I am currently teaching second grade, but have taught all grades K-8. My specialty subject is writing and grammar. The students I have taught have sometimes been super high writers and often are very low academic writers. All have learned to love writing, even though I am a hard taskmaster, because they have learned a sense of accomplishment in a subject they thought they were hopeless in. My expectations are fairly strict due to the...
I am a K-8 highly qualified certified teacher from Alaska. I am currently teaching second grade, but have taught all grades K-8. My specialty subject is writing and grammar. The students I have taught have sometimes been super high writers and often are very low academic writers. All have learned to love writing, even though I am a hard taskmaster, because they have learned a sense of accomplishment in a subject they thought they were hopeless in. My expectations are fairly strict due to the importance of being able to communicate in an information society. A successful student will be capable of graduating from high school and continuing on to college, using solid foundational writing skills. Many students and adults believe reading and math to be the most important subjects, but once a student enters college, demonstration of knowledge is a majority of writing. The importance of being able to write clear thoughts about a comprehensive topic is golden in any child's future.
My expertise has brought recognition from my peers, my college professors, and my school district, where I have received a four point in my Master of Ed Leadership at UAA, a Writing Teacher of the Year award, and Teacher of the Month awards. The material I am familiar with is grammatical and foundational in organizational methods. I have taught students in 8th grade who are in the special education program, were far below proficient in writing, and whose IQ's were low to the extreme and brought them to a point of proficient in writing. Parents and Aunties had tears streaming down their face, because they never though they would see the day. This took time to establish, though, and dedication, and practice, and the desire to succeed (not always evident in the reluctant writer, which means I need a strong support system from the parent/guardian). Once writing systems are established and the writer begins to feel more confident, a sense of pride in accomplishment and a desire to write, rather than reluctance occurs. I start a student where they
