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July Teacher Spotlight

Tell us about your teaching experience. I just finished my 6th year teaching, but every year still feels new! That’s one of the things I love about teaching– it is always exciting and challenging in new ways. I currently teach at Phillis Wheatley Community School (a Firstline School) as a Garden Educator with the Edible Schoolyard New Orleans. Garden classes at Wheatley are part of the enrichment cycle (also known as “specials”), so we get to teach every student in Pre-K through 4th grade.

Why did you choose teaching? I chose teaching because it doesn’t feel like a “job” necessarily; it feels like a way of life. I love that every day is different and I love building relationships with students. I also love getting it wrong and learning so much about myself and the students every day. It is a very humbling profession.

What piece of advice would you give to new teachers? Stick with it. It gets so much easier.

What’s a funny or inspiring anecdote you have from teaching? Every year we celebrate “Watermelon Day”, fueled by Farmer Ben’s Watermelons from the Indian Springs Farmers Association. Two years ago, we had a seed-spitting contest and came back from the summer to see that all of the seeds from the previous year had germinated throughout the garden and were growing their own crop of melons. With schools online, this was a very fun and bountiful way to start the school year: finding homes for all the melons.

What are you reading right now? Rereading “Me and White Supremacy” by Layla Saad and “Bringing Up Race. How to Raise a Kind Child in a Prejudiced World.” by Uju Asika. Also excited to dig into “Cultivating Genius” by Gholdy Muhammad for the upcoming AfterClass book club!

What are your hobbies? Before the pandemic, I played Roller Derby with the Big Easy Rollergirls, under my derby name “Twisted Steele”. Since then I have been blowing off my steam at Flambeaux Fit, a Crossfit style gym in Metairie. Hoping to get back to Derby soon. Other than that, I like to travel, eat, and drink Bubble Tea. 

What’s one word that describes your teaching style? I try to be trusting and hands-off with students. I have learned over the years that this approach requires REALLLLLY good directions, though 🙂 I am still getting good at it.

Do you have any recommendations for teachers for whom they should follow on social media? Or any websites or other resources you’ve found helpful? I have learned a lot from following @decentertheteacher on Instagram, and The Abolitionist Teaching Network @atn_1863.

Favorite food? Right now- peaches. Someone recently made a Peach Pandowdy that was totally delicious.

Favorite word? Pandowdy is a pretty cool word haha.

How are you spending your summer? Road tripping and reading/recharging after this insane school year.

What do you think teachers need the most right now? Hope, support, and encouragement to stick with teaching post-COVID.