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Symbolic Worlds

 Symbolic Worlds & My Identity  If you look closely, the image above is a mosaic of me, made up of hundreds of smaller pictures of the important moments, and the important people, all of which and whom have shaped me to be who I am today, who I will be tomorrow, and who I will be in the future. As time goes on, the number of pictures in the mosaic will grow, and as time goes on, the mosaic will change. No two mosaics will look the same, a beautiful metaphor for myself and my journey through life and through my profession as an educator. 
Recent posts

Local Matters

Reflection on Local Matters In reflecting upon Local Matters, I found myself trying my absolute best to make connections and to resonate with the author, however, there was not much I could relate to. I guess the one thing that did stick out to me upon reading this article was how humbled and grateful I felt for the privilege that I did and do have as a student in that I was and likely never will be labeled a certain way because of my race. Although I was the loud girl at school, I was never the white loud girl. Although I can relate to the labels and the connection between knowledge (academia) and social identity, I feel as though it would be disingenuine of me to say that this paper resonates with me as I can not begin to understand the feelings of students who are labeled based on their race. 

Mathematics for Human Flourishing

 Mathematics for Human Flourishing The Moments that I Stop "I was told by one professor, You don't have what it takes to be a successful mathematician."  Wow, this quote. This quote made its way right into my heart and pulled at its emotional strings a bit. I can think of so many moments in my math undergrad where I felt not good enough, not smart enough, not believed in, and like I wasn't in the right classroom. What pushed me through my degree was truly my desire to change mathematics education for K-12 students and help them to believe that each of them can be successful mathematicians. The upsetting part about this quote is that this is still a theme in our mathematics education today. Students still believing that they are not good at math and that they will never be successful in a mathematics course. As part of my inquiry 1 project, I did an interview with Vanessa Vakharia (aka the Math Guru) who is passionate about math anxiety and whose research surrounds the...

Walking through the BEd

 My Inquiry Walk through the BEd The photo on the top left is a photo from my very first day of practicum. The photo on the bottom right is from my very last day of practicum. The photos in between, which are in chronological order from left to right, top to bottom, are photos taken throughout my practicum, each morning. I think what's interesting about these photos is I can tell just by looking at them where I was in terms of my inquiry process and my thoughts and feelings towards teaching.  In the beginning, I'm fresh and excited. Everything is new! Photo number 4. in the top right was taken right after spring break when I was so excited to be back in the classroom :) When we get to photo 5 (bottom left) and 6 and 7, I'm starting to get tired. I started to burn out, which goes hand in hand nicely with my inquiry 3 topic!  By photo 8 I am so excited to be done the practicum and am ready to move on to the real world of teaching! The inquiry I explored a lot during my prac...

Reflections on the Practicum & Next Steps

1. Name: Sarah Reny 2. Teaching Specialties: Math & Computer Science 3. Highlights of your teaching practicum experience: a. Experiences I remember with a smile: Having my students visit me at lunch once their quarter was over always put a smile on my face. The other teacher candidate in my school and I had a wonderful relationship and that was an experience I will always remember. The moments when I did an activity or a lesson and my students were SO into it and so engaged :) THE BEST! b. Challenges: Self-care and balance for sure... The biggest challenge I struggled with was trying to figure out how to find balance in the classroom. Achieving a space that was mutually beneficial in that I am at my best and so are my students. Hopefully I get to explore this more in my inquiry 3 project! c. Ongoing learning: SO MUCH LEARNING, EVERYTHING! One thing I am excited to explore in September is the role social media can play in the classroom and how we can use it positively.  4. Wha...

Inquiry Project Reflections

Inquiry Project Reflections  Inquiry project thoughts... I have a few...  The Process: I'm not a big research & reading person, and so the part of this project I was not looking forward to was the literature review. Although this was the hardest part for me, I did find that reading and reviewing topics that you genuinely have an interest in makes reading much easier. The part of the process that I loved the most was connecting with other math teachers through instagram. I love social media and find that connecting with other educators, as well as my following audience as a whole is a fantastic way to gain insight.  The Learning: I think that everything I read, and everything I heard through interactions, came as no surprise to me. I think what I learned most from this project was the following: We have the tools. We have the knowledge. We know exactly how to help our students. However, the question then becomes, why are we not helping them? How come we put into the BC...