A Teacher in 2020

Please find my podcast here: http://ccolombo87.podomatic.com/entry/2012-07-09T16_42_13-07_00

Thanks and let me know what you think!

Video Script (Work in Progress!!)

Script:

Audio	Video
The world is full of puzzles.	Picture of the earth
Crossword puzzles, word searches, Jigsaw puzzles, Sudoku, dog puzzles, mazes, children’s puzzles.	Montage of puzzles.
But one of the most complicated puzzles one can solve is the puzzle of yourself.  What pieces make up you?  When fitted together, what are you supposed to be?	???
There are many pieces in my puzzle, which have come together to make me who I am today.	Puzzle pieces
I have always had a passion for working with kids.  In fact, I spend a lot of my free time volunteering.  I go out to classrooms and into the community with the education department at the San Diego Humane Society.  I also co-lead a girl scout troop.	Montage of volunteering
A catalyst is something that causes a reaction to happen.  My catalyst is named Katie.  She owns a dance studio. One day, she taught my Girl Scouts how to dance for their dance badge.  I left jealous, but inspired to work with kids, too.  I learned from Katie that living your passion inspires others to live theirs.	Picture of Katie, Picture of Studio, Picture of Katie and me.
I ended up getting into the multiple subjects and M.Ed. program at UCSD.  I lived in this room.  I have taken fabulous classes from great professors.  I have also had a loving and supportive cohort.  We laughed.  We cried.  We talked about our dreams.	Montage of UCSD pictures.
Another loving and supporting person in my life is my mom.  She talked to me on the phone.  A lot.  She talked to me in the mornings.  She talked to me in the evenings.  She talked to me during the school day.  She talked to me on weekends.  She knows a lot about special ed. And she taught me more acronyms that FDR could ever dream of.	Montage of mom pictures
Student teaching gave me opportunities to work with several students…	Montage of Student Teaching
At the end of every day, I’ve come home to my boys: Arshan and Lincoln.	Montage of Arshan and Lincoln Pictures
Deepak Chopra said “There are no extra pieces in the universe. Everyone is here because he or she has a place to fill, and every piece must fit itself into the big jigsaw puzzle.”	Me typing this into word document (screen capture)
I know where I fit in this universe.  I’m a teacher	Picture of me.  Lower third that says teacher.
Credits Music	Credits

Blog Post #1 (in your new blog): Tell us about a classroom event this year that had an impact on your professional growth and/or vision this year.

For me, my classroom event was not a lesson.  My classroom event was the first time I realized how powerful it is that I believe in all of my students.  I was a student teacher in a sixth-grade self-contained classroom.  My students were mostly ELLs and all were low socio-economic status.  We were doing a reading comprehension activity related to a story out of the literature text book.  The question asked the students: "what's a goal you have and what do you think it will take to achieve it?"  As a class, we brainstormed possible goals.  Many students wanted to be professional athletes or performers, which, while fantastic dreams, are rather unrealistic.  Not every single student in my class is going to become famous.  I posed the question, "what about going to college?"  To my surprise, many of my students had never considered the possibility of going to college.  They responded that college was too expensive.  I ended up teaching a lesson on financial aid and scholarships that day.  Impromptu with no lesson plan, straight from the heart. Sometimes the best lessons are that way. My students were excited and enthusiastic about the idea of going to college, and we had several more conversations about going to college during my placement.  I realized then how important it is to discuss the future with your students and to believe in them, even if others don't.  All students deserve opportunities, regardless of their background, language abilities, intellectual abilities, or socio-economic status.  A good teacher helps students to see opportunities and the ways to achieve them.