Student Work Reflective Essay

Thomas Watson, former chairman of IBM said, “Nothing so conclusively proves a man’s ability to lead others, as what he does from day to day to lead himself.” In my current position, the best things I can do to strengthen and improve the teaching profession are to teach to the best of my abilities, be a professional, maintain a positive attitude, keep my focus student-centered, and influence other teachers to do the same. One of my fellow teachers, Mrs. Pam Parris, and her exceptional children’s class, sponsor an initiative to encourage students and staff at our school to “be the change” in how students with special needs are treated. The effects of the Project Unify program have been astounding. Mrs. Parris’ students are able to participate in my band and chorus classes side by side with regular education students. This came to fruition because a few student leaders stepped out to join Project Unify and truly became the change they wanted to see in the rest of the school. This same idea can relate to …show more content…
The ASW is the best model of accountability I have seen because it is based on a growth-model of assessment just like the first five standards of the NCEES evaluation instrument. Student work is reviewed based on the amount of growth over a period of time as related to the NC Essential Standards. This eliminates most instances of inequality because students are not required to pass a one-time test to prove they learned something. Real life is not based on a one-time test. Real life rarely is pass or fail; it is based on a model of growth and improvement. If we establish a culture of accountability based on growth, our students and teachers can learn to trust in their own abilities based on knowing where they began in relation to how far they have come. In turn, they can use that correlation as a springboard to further motivation for