Sarah Hirsch

Leah Duran

TLS 403 Spring 17

07 May 2017

Professional Leadership, Advocacy, and Professional Development Career Plan

Advocacy for Children and Families

As a teacher, we are one of the resources that many children and families have. As a

resource, we become close and develop relationships with them. It is through these relationships

that we can learn about any difficulties or inconsistencies they may have within the classroom,

school, and community. Teachers can take these issues and find ways to fight for these families

so that they can have all of the things they need to succeed.

One way I want to do this going forward, is working with my school to provide English

classes for the families of our school. I will be teaching in a low income and highly Mexican

American population next year and I feel that this is a resource that these families should have if

they want it. Unfortunately in our society, people must know English in order to get the majority

of the jobs in the United States. I feel that providing these types of classes would give the

families the opportunity to succeed in society and therefore better provide for their families. In

order to do this, I would reach out to the principal and find out if there is a program already in

place or if there needs to be one implemented. If there is already a program, I would be

interested in seeing if their was anything that could be improved. I would also be interested in

volunteering my time to assist in the classes and even tutor any families that feel they need more

support.
 Another component of classroom life with English Language Learners that I feel strongly

about, is the ability to support learning through using their home language. I feel that supporting

my students through the use of bilingual labels, giving vocabulary words in English and their

first language counterpart, and providing language support through their first language should be

more accepted in schools. It is proven that English Language Learners make better connections

to English when they can apply what they know in their first language to their learning. If this is

true, then it is not helping ELLs if they are treated like their home language is less than English.

I want to advocate for the right of my students to use their home languages in their learning as

long as it is assisting their learning of English. I also would like to fight for the right to use

supports through labels and pictures throughout not only my classroom, but throughout the entire

school. I plan to advocate for my students by researching this topic and providing evidence for

what I am implementing within my classroom. I also plan to know the laws around this issue to

know just how far I can go before it breaks these laws. If there is a board or committee around

this topic I would like to attempt to join or just participate as much as I can so that my students

and their families are heard.

The most important part of my philosophy is an anti-bias approach to learning. I have

connected strongly to this aspect of teaching since I first started becoming involved in the Early

Childhood Education program. I plan to use this approach in my classroom to make all my

students and their families feel welcome and to feel like they belong. I plan to do this through

the use of cultural materials being present within the classroom. I also plan to make sure all

languages that are present in my families are present in my classroom. I want to ensure that all

of the children and families understand that we are a diverse classroom and that all diversities are

accepted. I also want to work to make the school that way as well, where families feel
comfortable in this environment no matter what their culture is or what their experiences are. I

feel a great way to advocate for all families cultures to be represented would be to help set up a

committee that works to make the school a more diverse place. This could be through having all

languages present, holding culture days, and even putting all cultural events happening in the

community in the school newsletter.

Leadership in the Profession and Community

I would be interested in being a part of a mentorship program through my school or

district. I know my district does a mentoring program that I will be a part of as a mentee and I

would like to go into it myself later as a mentor. I feel it is such a valuable opportunity to

interact with the future of teaching and it is also a wonderful way to interact with new concepts

being taught to these new teachers.

I would also be interested in opening up my classroom for student teachers to come and

learn. I would love to be a mentor and once again help shape the future of teaching. I think it is

a valuable opportunity to learn new methods and to also interact with others in the teaching

profession. I want to create a rich classroom where a student teacher could learn how to lead a

class and have the ability to try out new ideas with some freedom and support.

I want to look into what committees and organizations that my district and its community

have that I could join and work with to become closer to issues and the values of the community.

I would also be open to heading an organization if it fits with my philosophy and really helps

with the issues that my students and their families are experiencing. I know my district partners

closely with the St. Marys Foodbank as well as the local Boys and Girls club. I want to lead a

big push in the school and community to donate as much food as we can to the Foodbank to

better support the community. I would also be interested in volunteering my time and resources
to the local Boys and Girls Club and even approach them about some afternoon programs that I

feel would be beneficial to the community.

Further Professional Development

I plan to go back for my masters after a few years of teaching. I want to teach for a few

years first instead of going directly into a masters program because I have many interests and

would like to narrow my scope. I am interested in how children develop language and how that

affects their learning. I am also interested in how children learn to read and how to best support

and teach this process. And I am also interested in possibly becoming a Principal or some other

member of the administration in school systems. Because of how different all of these aspects

are, I would like to participate in workshops and professional development opportunities that

could possibly help me find what best suits who I am as a teacher.

I would also like to participate in workshops and professional development on how to

include more technology in the classroom. I feel that I saw a little bit of how this could be done

in my student teaching time, but in both placements, the school and the teachers did not have

access to as much technology as they could have, such as smart boards. Todays students are

becoming more and more tech savvy as they enter the school system and instead of fighting these

changes, I would like to empower the students so that they can be better prepared for where

technology could take them in the future.

I would also like to go back to school right away to obtain my bilingual endorsement. I

feel that this is such a valuable element for supporting children in todays America and especially

in todays Arizona. There is a large population of our students whose first language is not

English and by knowing Spanish, I will be able to better support my students through their first

language if they need it. I will also be able to communicate with the parents and families of
these students without the use of translator which can often stifle a meeting or conference. I feel

that this will be one of my most valuable professional development opportunities that I will

accomplish.