When I entered the science classroom again in 2013 after a few years hiatus as a middle school librarian, I was passionate about being in the classroom with students, doing stuff every day. Science happened to be my area of certification (and an available opening at my school), but it wasn't quite the passion then that it is today. Along with the teaching position came the opportunity to be PLC lead and to work to bring NGSS to our school and our district as part of a regional and state level rollout. This is where my passion for high-quality science education was ignited. I saw glimpses of the vision of the Framework and the NGSS. To me, they looked difficult to reach, but we owed it to our kids to strive to reach that vision.
That passion both for high-quality science instruction for all students, and the passion for being in the classroom teaching students every day remain with me even at the end of a very trying calendar year.
Now let's talk about what's changed. In 2013, I was teaching at a small middle-school in a small suburban district in Kentucky. Although I wasn't the longest-tenured teacher in the science department, I was leading the department. After about 6 years in that role, I moved up to the high school to teach biology and freshman science (an introductory course in chemistry and physics). I was no longer leading the department, but I was trying to influence colleagues to dive deeper into the vision of the NGSS. (See my Small Steps project for more info on this.) At the same time, I was learning and developing new curricula while teaching former students again.
At the end of last year, I made the decision to leave the district that had nurtured my teaching career for 20 years to try something new. I moved to a new, much larger district, to teach science at an alternative high school (during a pandemic). You'll notice that there haven't been any posts on teaching during a pandemic because I, like most of us, have struggled with teaching students in a virtual or hybrid environment.
So, as 2020 draws to a close, even though I'm in a still-new position in a still-new district, I'm as committed as ever to high-quality science instruction for all students. I believe that the vision of the NGSS still leads us on this path.
What has changed for you? What are you still committed to? How will that influence your 2021?