yego.me
💡 Stop wasting time. Read Youtube instead of watch. Download Chrome Extension

LearnStorm Growth Mindset: Teacher leader on his career journey


3m read
·Nov 11, 2024

I'm Paul Clifton. I'm 30 years old. I am a sixth-grade teacher leader, and my salary is about $60,000. I'm a new teacher leader, and so I get to coach other teachers, fellow math teachers, and work on a team. I get to observe teachers teach, co-teach with them, and get into other classrooms instead of just working in my own.

Times in McLone, we collaborate so much, and it's a great opportunity to be a part of that. I'm an ELA teacher, so that means that in the classroom, I use Spanish and English to teach. A lot of times I'll translanguage, which is I'll go back and forth between English and Spanish just to help everyone understand. We have a lot of language learners at our school, so there are so many students that have the potential to be bilingual and biliterate.

It's so important that we're using both languages and helping them understand that Spanish has just as much value and validity as English. Even though I went through the teaching college and everything like that, took all the courses, that first day I was still super nervous. I can't say I was fully prepared, and you know, I'm still progressing every day. I don't think it's possible to be fully prepared to become a teacher.

I remember that first day, I had this huge nervous feeling, scared and full of fear. It was always like the best times for you to grow. So, being able to get through kind of like not even that first day but the first week, after that it was like, "Oh man, okay, this is what I'm supposed to be doing." Employers and principals are looking for people who are really reflective, really on their practice, and who have the growth mindset to continue to grow and progress.

We have such a big emphasis in our school around coaching, and the progress you make as a teacher definitely comes up in interviews. That's one of the main questions that is asked: do we feel comfortable being videotaped? Do we feel comfortable with, like, in-the-moment coaching? A lot of times you're going to be asked to teach a lesson, and then a few minutes after you teach it, reflect on that lesson and pick out things that you did well and what you could improve on.

Definitely, principals are looking for people that reflect on their practice and are willing to grow. I feel like being a Black male teacher in the elementary setting has really given me an advantage in finding a job. Being bilingual, there was a lot that I brought to the table naturally that helped me find a job. But I do recognize that it can be tough for teachers, especially if you're not a math or a science teacher, to find a job and maintain it.

I know that it's so important for kids, especially nowadays where they have access to so much technology, that they have experiences with Black males who are positive and who are in schools serving kids and teaching with love. I feel like without that, it can be really tough for kids to see themselves being more than what is shown to them on TV or through music.

The amount of drive that you have to have to become a teacher means you would be successful at anything. But, you know, definitely having that passion for teaching—it's not easy. It's really difficult. You have to teach on the fly, think, and change your instruction as you go. You have to be humble every day because what you're teaching isn't working, so you have to change it up in some way.

More Articles

View All
Remainder theorem examples | Polynomial Division | Algebra 2 | Khan Academy
So we have the graph here of y is equal to p of x. I could write it like this: y is equal to p of x. And they say, what is the remainder when p of x is divided by x plus three? So pause this video and see if you can have a go at this. And they tell us you…
Reasoning through multiplying decimal word problems | Grade 5 (TX TEKS) | Khan Academy
We’re told that Juan runs 1.7 kilometers every morning. Juan runs the same amount every day for six days. How many kilometers did Juan run in six days? Pause this video and see if you can figure this out before we do this together. All right, so Juan is …
Where Does the Waste Go?: A Day in the Life of a Scientist | Continent 7: Antarctica
[Music] Definitely the worst part about Antarctica. So we don’t leave anything behind here in the environment. The New Zealand program actually is very thorough in doing that and it’s not that bad as it sounds. So I disagree. Uh, yeah, some disagree. Actu…
Spinning Tube Trick Explained
[Applause] [Music] So, how does the spinning tube trick work? Well, a lot of you identified that the tube is rotating about its long axis, and it’s also rotating horizontally about its middle. But how does that allow us to see one symbol and not the othe…
Khan Academy "Hamilton" song
How does a website platform educational and non-profit shot in a cramped damp shoebox of a closet as an office built by a Bengali trooper? This product turned out to be the schoolhouse of the future. The not recruit hedge fund suitor without a suit got a …
Saving Cabins in the Arctic | Life Below Zero
I’m learning new country this winter, so my greatest challenge is don’t let the land or the weather kill me. The water is cold; you feel get used to it after a while. This is a big chunk of ice. Rico and Skyler have traveled to the Celawat hot springs wit…