Kayla+DeWald

__Getting Started __ The first day of my classroom will consist of me setting the tone. I really liked the idea in the reading about the contrasting silhouettes. It definitely would help the students who didn't know each other get to know each other and create an open environment in the classroom. My only concern would be that students would pretend they didn't know their best friends which would completely defeat the purpose. However, I plan to teach in a smaller town and hopefully, after a few years, will get to know the students in other grade levels as well and therefore would know who was friends with who. I want my students to feel comfortable with each other and get to know and appreciate everyone in the class. I know this sounds idealistic but I feel that by opening up my classroom to my students' passions and interests they will be more likely to appreciate each other. I want my students to use their passions in the learning process. Knowing that their classmates are working with their passions, I think that the students will be less likely to be overly judgmental and they will appreciate each others work more. I want to set this tone on the first day. I will do this by sharing my visions and passions with my students. This will open me up and show my students that I'm as vulnerable as they are. This will create an early bond with my students and set the tone of my room.

[|My School Life Map]

__How I plan to "write myself into being" __ After looking at my online identity in class on Friday, I was very shocked as to what came up. I did not think that simply “googling” my name would result in anything actually related to me but the search came up with so many different pages that I have including my Facebook and my Pinterest. This got me thinking about the types of things I post and repost on social media sites. I don’t consider myself to have association with anything wildly inappropriate but I had already been thinking of ways to limit my exposure prior to this activity. Seeing what came up, though, made me rethink my ideas and come up with some new ones.  I have already made a new Twitter and deleted the one I have had for years. I simply had way too many tweets to go through and double check to make sure I was not out of line. I have also considered deleting my Facebook, but I keep in contact with my extended family from the beach and Nova Scotia and therefore have decided to keep it. I do not use Facebook as much as some of my peers though, so I do not think I am too worried about something crazy being posted on mine. I do censor what my friends post about me. Most of my friends are understanding when I tell them that I cannot have something on my page or if I ask them to remove a photo that I feel does not reflect me well.  My Pinterest is most DIY projects and recipes that I hope to try soon. I also have education links posted on there that I plan to use next year in my own classroom. I do not have anything inappropriate on there. I have done a full cleaning of that site to double check my reputation there.  My next step is to get my name out there, but in a positive way. I hope to create pages and social media sites that people are interested in for things regarding education. I am working on getting my Keepers of the History website edited and out there more. Once I get more research done with that, I will figure out ways to get it higher up on the Google searches. I want people to find that first when I am “googled” rather than my Facebook and Twitter.

__Teaching Philosophy __

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**Passion.** Children learn best when they are enjoying what they are doing. As middle school students, more than likely, the students will not have figured out what they are passionate about. It is my job as their teacher to help them on the journey to discovering their passions. I will use each student’s passion in my teaching and cater to their skills as much as possible. I want each student to enjoy learning in my classroom and realize who they are and what they can do for the world during their time with me. ======

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**Individual**. Each student is their own person. No one set curriculum or lesson will resonate with every single student. I hope to individualize my lessons and my teaching style to each student. I will incorporate my students’ passions and skills in my lessons so that they have the opportunity to showcase what they are good at and enjoy doing. My students will feel like they are people, not just a name on a roster. ======

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**Vision.** People want to be good. People want to help others. My students will be no different. Part of my first week of school will be learning about my students’ visions for the world. I want to help them realize their visions. I hope to not just be their teacher but their mentor and guidance as well. I expect my students to have a goal for themselves to make a difference in the world in whatever way they see fit by the time they leave my classroom. Ideally, they will have set the wheels in motion to realize that vision and reach that goal during their time with me. ======

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**Learning.** Naturally, school is about learning. I do not want my students to be sitting in a traditional classroom bored out of their minds. They will not be. My classroom will be a place where creativity and dreams are welcomed and discussed freely. All the while, we will be learning. We will be revolving the curriculum around the students’ dreams and visions and passions. They will be interested in the materials that we are covering. I want my students to not even know they are learning. They will learn by doing and experiencing rather than sitting and reading. ======


 * Technology**. Students today are growing up in a very technological time. Why shouldn't that technology be used in their learning as well as in their lives? My education has trained me in numerous technologies that can be used in the classroom. Technology is a teacher's best friend. I plan to have technology used in my classroom often. Many students will have access to all types of technology at home from iPhones to tablets to computers to who knows what else will come out. As a 21st century teacher, I plan to utilize my students' knowledge and experience with their technology and tie that into the curriculum that we cover.

__My Ideal Classroom __ 

__ Student Teaching Placement __ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">North Davie Middle School <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Kathy Kendall <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">8th Grade Language Arts and Social Studies

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">__My Name Essay__

What’s in a name?

People choose names for their children based on a number of factors. They see a name they like on a television show or they admire a certain actor or actress. Often, people name their children after themselves or other important family members. My name is no different.

My first name, Kayla, is a very common name. It is of Irish and Gaelic decent and could mean a number of different things. One meaning is “slim and fair.” Another, claiming that Kayla is a variation of the Welsh name Kay, is “full of joy” and “rejoicing.” There was also a Kayla language that is now extinct that was spoken by Ethiopian Jews. This name is very popular in the United States and Canada. In the US, the popularity rose in the 1980’s because of a popular character on //Days of our Lives// named Kayla Brady. This is how I got this name. My mom heard of the character (even though she never really watched the show) and fell in love with the name. She said that her first daughter would be named Kayla, and sure enough, I am.

Lorraine is my middle name. This name means more to my family and I because it was my grandmother’s name. My mom loved her mom and her name. Lorraine is of French descent. This is not surprising to me since my grandmother is from Nova Scotia, Canada, which is home to roughly 152,548 French Canadians including my extended family. Lorraine comes from the Kingdom of Lothar, who was the Frankish King.

DeWald, my family name, sounds majestic to me. After researching deeper, I could not find much information other than the fact that it came from the personal name Diebold. It is of German descent, which is also not surprising considering my dad’s side of the family came from Germany during the mid to late 1800’s. Only one meaning was discovered in my research and that was bold, brave, and strong. This seems to define my family. One thing I have been raised with my entire life is the importance of the capitalization of the “W” in the name. It has been speculated by my family that at one point in time, the name was spelled De Wald, with a space. However, we “Americanized” the name by combining both parts and keeping the capitol “W.”

My name means various different things, but it seems to fit me well. I enjoy learning more about the history of my name and why it was chosen for me. I can’t wait to put the thought into creating a name for my future children!

__My Name Poem__


 * K**ind-hearted
 * A**ctive in school
 * Y**outhful in thoughts
 * L**oud!
 * A**ppreciative of opportunities


 * D**edicated to family
 * E**xcited about the future
 * W**ondering about issues of today
 * A**vid reader
 * L**evel-headed
 * D**addy's girl

__My Name Poster__



__Poem__

__Almost Done__ Where have you gone, Kayla? Oh. I forgot you are a senior and your classes last for years. You're drowning in assignments that are all intertwined, and due at the same time.

It's almost done. One more month. Then you're out in the real world which is way less stressful. So just hold out. For one more month. Then you're done.

__ Unit Plan Theme/Ideas __ //The Outsiders// What defines a family?