Vision Statement-Jenna Yasin

What do you see, hear, and feel when you explore your ideal middle or high school classroom?
Upon exploring my ideal middle or high school classroom, one will find a room that celebrates all cultures and backgrounds. The walls will be filled with items or posters that represent what makes the students who they are, and everyone who enters the classroom will feel valued, accepted, appreciated, and celebrated. One will also hear the chit-chat of learning students as they engage in what they are learning.




What is your role in your ideal classroom? Why do you envision yourself in this position?
My role in my ideal classroom involves a more student-centered approach, which would allow students to take control of their own learning and adjust to whatever means that would help them be successful. My role is a supportive, guided role that helps facilitate student learning in the best way possible. Furthermore, the reason I envision myself in this position is because I believe it is the most impactful on students, which will allow for a higher quality education that they would be able to carry with them into the future years to come.




What are your students doing in this ideal middle or high school classroom? What role do your students play in their learning? Why?
My students are fostering both their independent and collaborative skills, with an emphasis on collaboration due to the fact that collaboration is a key skill the majority of the population needs to have in the real world. Students will be engaging in discussions with their peers, group projects/presentations, and partnered activities to enhance this skill. Moreover, the role students play in their learning is significant, but it involves mentorship and guidance. This is because choice and being able to take the reins on one's own learning is important, but it is our role as educators to help facilitate that for them.






What are your students learning in your ideal middle or high school classroom? What topics and texts are they exploring? Why are these themes/materials important?
In my ideal middle or high school classroom, my students are exploring topics and texts that are relevant to them. However, there will be a balance between relevant topics and those that fit the state standards. They will still read classical texts due to their widely recognized importance, but fun activities that relate the text to their personal lives will help their cognitive skills and allow them to reach higher order levels of thinking.




What role does literacy play in the planning and implementation of the curriculum? How are your students being engaged and supported in their literacy learning in your middle or high school classroom?
Literacy plays a crucial role in the planning and implementation of the curriculum. This is through having preselected texts that fit the standards and my culturally responsive teaching philosophy, but it allows students to have a choice in what they would like to read. Doing this allows for optimal support and engagement because the students will have picked what will allow them to be the most engaged, and in turn, the most successful.




What is the relationship between what is occurring in your classroom and the visions of the school community? What role will you, your students, and your curriculum and instruction play in enacting this vision?
The relationship between myself, my classroom, and the overall school community involve a significant amount of collaboration, support, and leadership. Enacting this vision will be through culturally responsive teaching and the importance of giving back to the world around you, and through that, students will be able to take charge in their own learning, their personal lives, and the lives of those around them. They will know what it means to be a part of a larger community as well as the impact they each have on the larger scale. With that, I can exemplify those ideals through my own behaviors, along with taking on a supportive role to help guide students as much as possible.