October 1, 2024 • 45 mins
Ms. Barnes encourages students to see math challenges as stepping stones to mastery.
Today we are joined by middle school math teacher, Camyrea Barnes from Michigan. Camyrea believes that with the right mindset and community support, students can take on any math problem. As a leader on her school's positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS) team, Camyrea is also dedicated to fostering a supportive classroom environment. In this episode, Camyrea shares strategies for fostering a growth mindset, like journaling and one-on-one conferencing. Plus she discusses how to build a supportive community for both teachers and students.
Teachers in America profiles K–12 teachers across the country. Hear firsthand from the people who are shaping young lives in the classroom every day. If you or someone you know would be a good candidate for Teachers in America, please email us at shaped@hmhco.com.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
I really found a lot of my success really introduced
our growth versus fixed mindsetwithin our community building.
So during my lessons, mylanguage to them is centered
around a growth mindset and theycan understand.
Oh, ms Barnes expects me tothink this way and not just to
say I can't do this, but insteadsay you know what this is
challenging, but I'm going tokeep working at it.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
From paper and pencil to Wi-Fi and AI.
Education is ever-evolving.
On this new season of Teachersin America, we'll keep you on
the forefront of what's new.
We connect with teachers and edleaders to talk trending topics
and real issues, bringing youinspiring ideas that will
influence the future of yourteaching.
This past summer, host KayleeRhodes connected with fellow
(00:45):
middle school math teacher,Kamaria Barnes.
Kamaria teaches eighth grade,pre-algebra and algebra in
Wayne-Westland Community SchoolDistrict in Michigan.
She believes that with theright mindset and community,
students can take on any mathchallenge.
As a leader on her school'spositive behavior interventions,
andorts team, Kamaria is alsodedicated to fostering a
(01:07):
supportive classroom environment.
In this episode, she shares howshe nurtures a growth mindset
and builds community with herstudents and peers.
Now here's Kaylee and Kamaria.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
Welcome Kamaria.
I'm so excited to have you onthe podcast.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
I'm excited to be here with you.
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 3 (01:25):
Yeah, Okay.
So, Kamaria, where are youjoining us from?
Like?
You look like you're kind of ina so you like, unfolded a giant
manila folder behind yourself.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
I'm at the Cannon Public Library in my area, so I
went to the library to do thispodcast so I can have
distraction free.
Plus, I'm on summer vacation,so I've been in the house for a
couple of days now and I'm likeI need a new scenery.
So this is what we did.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
We came here any reason you're not joining us
from your classroom it's toosoon.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Give me to August.
Late August, late August, latelate August.
Give me to that, then you'llsee me back in my classroom.
But our last day was this pastFriday, june 7thth, and once I
turned my classroom keys in, I'mlike I'm not turning back
unless my principal tells me to,but if she's not telling me to,
I will be out of the classroom.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
I was like the opposite.
I like had this weird, likelove for my classroom during the
summer because it was empty,which is like a dangerous
feeling to have, because thenyou like get attached to it
empty, and then when the kidscome back, you're like what are
y'all doing here?
This is my giant office.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
Not gonna lie, that classroom piece, that empty
classroom piece, is surreal,like during my prep hours or
after school.
I love the piece of an emptyclassroom, especially when it's
your classroom and you can seeall the details you put it to
the boards, the decorations, themeanings of why you put the
posters up.
My kids be asking, ms Barnes,why you got this poster up here.
(02:51):
It don't got nothing to do withmath.
I'm like it's because I like it, I want to see it, it's for me,
it's for me, so I love it.
I just I love that emptyclassroom piece, so I hear you
with that.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
Let's jump into some questions.
But speaking of middle school,middle school math is so unique.
So, um, as a math teachermyself, I started at in English
and then I was like one of thosepeople that never thought of
myself as a math person, whichnow I know to never say around
my kids.
Um, but finding myself in themath classroom was the best
(03:23):
thing that ever happened to me.
Um, so why for you?
Why math?
How did you end up as a mathteacher?
Speaker 1 (03:30):
So I've always been a numbers girl.
I love numbers, I love thearithmetic.
I played the violin when I wasyounger and I realized me
counting the beats and countingthe measures.
I love that.
So I've always been into mathand I was like, okay, so I want
to do something math related fora career.
So I was thinking to myself,what can I do with math as a
(03:51):
career?
So then I also admired my mom alot.
My mom was a huge publicservant in Detroit public
schools and she served a lot offamilies with children with
special, with disabilities, andshe was an advocate for them,
showing families how to askquestions during the IEP, how to
have conversations withteachers about their child's 504
(04:15):
plan, empowering kids like me,little black kids like me,
empowering them on how toadvocate for themselves in the
class.
And I just saw my mom mom doingthat.
I'm like, oh, maybe I could dosomething with public service
and math.
But I never thought about mathteacher.
It never clicked to me, mathteacher.
But what clicked to me was whenI was in high school, my senior
year, I had a job where Iworked at a summer math camp as
(04:38):
a high school teacher assistantand I got to teach middle school
math, middle school studentsmath over the summer and I fell
in love with the craft ofteaching, not just the concept
of math, but just the building,the trust, fostering community,
having relationships, connectingwith people that you would
never thought you would connectwith.
I fell in love with that and Iwas like, wow, like I can be an
(05:00):
inspiration and do math at thesame time as a math teacher.
So all that whole experience ishow I end up here same time as
a math teacher.
So all that whole experience ishow I end up here as a fifth
year math teacher.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
That's beautiful, I mean, and hearing you talk about
like the relationship buildingand math.
Can you speak to a little bitabout how necessary it is to
build those studentrelationships and really foster
that community uniquely in themath classroom and the math
classroom space?
Speaker 1 (05:26):
Right, it is so important, like I don't think
people realize, like peoplethink math is just like straight
up, like numbers, like you getstraight to one answer, which a
lot of times it can be like that.
But math is such a challengingsubject where if you feel
defeated, you're not going to beable to do as well because of
that defeated or fixed mindset.
(05:46):
So, as a teacher, even likeduring my years of preparing to
be a teacher, or even in myclassroom experience, I realized
how it's so important for me toconnect with my kids when they
have those discouraging moments.
Me just giving them a liftingword and saying, hey, you got
this, like you already on theright track how that life would
go off for them and they willliterally be a whole different
(06:09):
mindset, a whole differentframework to just start hitting
the ground running with all ofthat.
So I was just super, supergrateful to just be able to
experience that relationshipbuilding with them in the math
classroom.
And if you don't know your kids, if you don't know your
students, you can't expect themto be able to be fully motivated
or to be able to have that.
(06:31):
What's the word for that?
work ethic or that effort towant to be successful in math.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
There's something weird about math where it feels
more exposed than maybe othersubjects.
Are you seeing that in yourstudents or do you feel that as
a teacher?
Speaker 1 (06:51):
When you say exposed.
Can you expound on that for mea little bit?
Speaker 3 (06:54):
Yeah, it seems like the failure to success ratio in
terms of emotions in class.
Coming from the Englishclassroom, it felt like having
students sometimes even likeread a poem in front of the
class that they wrote.
I was like they're probablyreally scared.
And then I became a mathteacher and I was like they are
(07:16):
way more afraid to come to themath board and do and do an
equation on the board than likeread a poem they wrote.
And so like this, like thisfear or this, like feeling very
exposed in the math classroom,like how do you, how do you see
that as a teacher and how do you, how do you confront it with
that growth mindset for yourkids?
Speaker 1 (07:34):
So it's interesting because during my first year of
teaching what you just said,exactly what I experienced my
first year of teaching.
So when I came into myclassroom, you know I was that
first year energy, like, oh mygosh, I'm going to change the
world and be an inspiration formy kids, I'm going to teach them
math and I'm going to be ableto do so many great projects and
(07:54):
they're going to make a movieof me, exactly, I'm going to be
Instagram famous and they'regoing to want to invite me on
the news station to show howgreat I have changed these kids'
lives.
And when I tell you that firstweek of teaching actually that
my first math lesson I did, itwas a lesson on teaching the
kids or just doing some reviewon like seventh grade math,
(08:17):
reviewing adding and subtractingintegers I'm like okay y'all,
so can we all come into the kids?
So I have a volunteer come intothe board to show me their work
.
We all come into the kids.
So I have a volunteer coming tothe board to show me their work
.
Mute, no one didn't want tocome up and I was like, okay, uh
, I was like, okay, how aboutyou?
So I saw, I saw your work.
It was great.
How about you come on up?
They came up, they put the wronganswer up there and at first I
(08:38):
was gonna, I was about to saysomething.
Then their other class issaying man, that's wrong.
Like there was just like reallylike tearing the student down,
and then the student and the twostudents started going back and
forth with each other and I waslike, oh, this is not how it
turned out it was a nightmare,my dreams of being on the news
stations.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
I'm going to be on the news for a different reason
Exactly.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
It just went all the way out.
So I was just so in that momentI was like, ok, so maybe
calling the kids up on the boardwasn't the best thing to do
right then and there, but at thesame time I was like I want my
kids to have that exposure, tobe OK to make mistakes.
So I believe in that moment Itook that moment as I could
(09:23):
laugh about it now, but backthen I was really like
embarrassed, I was shocked, Ididn't know what to do.
But in that moment it taught meand it showed me like, okay,
kamaria, we have to think aboutsomething different, like we
need to do something differentto try to get these kids to be
not afraid to mess up.
And that's when I started mywhole journey of researching
(09:44):
ways, having conversations andjust thinking of different
methods to encourage kids to beokay to fail or be okay to mess
up.
And that's when I startedlearning more about fixed versus
growth mindset and effort inthe math classroom.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
Do you talk with your kids explicitly about fixed
versus growth mindset?
Speaker 1 (10:05):
Oh, absolutely I do.
That's one of the that'sactually during my first two
weeks of teaching.
I don't teach no kind of math.
All we do is classroom building, setting up expectations for
our classroom, creating aclassroom culture and talk about
growth versus fixed mindset,and something I do in my
classroom called effort level,and we talk about explicitly
what a fixed mindset is, whereyou have a mindset that, oh,
(10:28):
your abilities are fixed,there's no purpose of growing,
you're born with your talents,you cannot grow, or anything
Versus a growth mindset thatsays you know what, if I keep
practicing, if I keep trying, ifI keep putting that effort
towards this task, then I can besuccessful.
And I have that conversationwith my kids explicitly during
the first two weeks where Iintroduce it to them outside of
the math context.
When we talk about you know, Ihave them break up into groups
(10:52):
where I show them videos orclips and different episodes and
TV shows of differentcharacters showing.
Yes, it's amazing and I love itso much because the kids, I
break them up into groups wherethey have to watch the clips.
I show the clips to the entireclass and the kids and their
groups have to determine if it'sa fixed versus growth mindset
at the character's display andthey have to write a reasoning
as to why and after that, thenext day we start talking about
(11:15):
okay y'all.
So, based on these examples, canyou name specific times what
you yourself has had a fixedmindset or a growth mindset?
And I have them reflect it,they write it down and then they
pair up with a partner and theyshare it with their partner,
and then sometimes I'll givethem the autonomy Okay, if you'd
like to share, just raise yourhand.
(11:36):
If not, then you share with thepartner.
And I told them we just havelike full-on discussions about
growth versus fixed mindset.
And then I asked them okay formath this year what do?
you believe is the perfectmindset to have when you are
doing math.
And I'm glad I do it before Iintroduce the math to them,
because a lot of times I feellike teachers or educators.
(11:57):
They introduce them to growthversus fixed mindset while
they're teaching a curriculum.
And when you're teaching it tothem, when you're teaching it to
a growth versus fixed mindsetbefore, like, why are you
teaching about hard content?
That's going to discourage thema little bit more.
It's going to be hard for themto really apply what they are
learning.
So, I really found a lot of mysuccess really introduced that
(12:19):
growth versus fixed mindsetwithin our community building.
So during my lessons, mylanguage to them is centered
around a growth mindset and itcan understand.
Oh, ms Barnes, expect me tothink this way and not just to
say I can't do this, but insteadsay you know what this is
challenging, but I'm going tokeep working at it.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
Yeah, it feels like you're so right to speak to the
intentionality of like.
I think a lot of us of educatorsare really reluctant to like
give up content time, but I'm sofascinated about how teachers
kick off their year because it'sso important to invest in stuff
like that at the top of theyear so that kids really
understand that you're notintroducing growth or fixed
(12:58):
mindset, you know in in monthtwo as a response to how they're
not doing well or something.
It's like laying the red carpetfor like.
This is the path we're going towalk, no matter if you have no
idea what kind of math I'm aboutto show you two plus two or
like define X.
You don't know.
So, either way, you have toapproach it with this mindset.
And it makes me curious aboutthis um, this group that you
(13:20):
lead of, uh, positive behaviorinterventions and supports how
much I mean like.
I imagine it's very difficultfor you to not bring in all the
skills that you have from thatinto your math class.
But can you talk to us a littlebit about just like that
isolatedly and like what that'sabout and maybe how it shows up
in your math class as yourskillset?
Speaker 1 (13:39):
Of course.
So one thing that I do so.
As you just said, I'm theleader of our positive behavior
intervention supports team at myschool and we are a group of
teachers who basically aretrying to create strategies to
support students in theclassroom and we usually focus
on behavior.
But the behavior goes to theacademics because if you have
(14:00):
instruction consisting in yourclassroom it transfers to the
student's work ethic.
So a lot of times in that groupI'm with my peers, I'm with my
administration, I'm with mybehavior team and we all talk
about different methods that weas a team can present to our
staff at staff meetings, methodsand strategies they can use to
(14:21):
promote a positive culturewithin their own classroom
setting.
So that's so.
That was definitely transpiredinto my classroom a lot, because
a lot of those strategies thatwe talk about I do try in my
class.
Speaker 3 (14:34):
Yeah, you pilot them.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
Exactly piloting.
So, for instance, there is onetime where I wanted to pilot a
chance for students to take abreak in my class, because we
had a big thing at our schoolwhere teachers wanted to send
kids out when they were beingdisruptive or not a task.
But a lot of us on theleadership team said, well, if
we do that, are we really doingrestorative practices with the
kids instead of just sendingthem out?
So what I do is I try to havethe kids take a break where, if
(15:01):
I'm sending them into the hall Ididn't know're coming right
back in after 60 seconds 60seconds two minutes.
you're coming right back intothat classroom.
You're not going to stay out inthe hallway for the entire time
.
You're coming back in and whenI come to talk to you, it's
going to be a conversation as towhat happened.
What can we do to relieve theissue?
(15:27):
What frustrations are youhaving?
And what I notice is when I askmy kids those questions,
instead of automatically puttingthem as the target or like
they're the issue, they're likethe problem but, I'm addressing
it as is like there's a problemthat they're having and they're
having a hard time processing.
They were able to answer thosequestions where I would have
students telling me you know, MsBarnes, this math is really
complicated, I don't get this, Idon't understand this.
It's boring, and I say thankyou for that feedback.
(15:48):
So what can I do as a teacherto try to help you become more
engaged?
What can we do right now, inthis moment?
Sometimes the kids will saythey'll give me a reason.
Sometimes they'll say I don'tknow, and I'm saying, well,
let's do it this way.
Can we just do this for todayand we'll think of something
else in the near future?
And doing that conversationshelped me build rapport with my
(16:10):
students and they created apositive classroom environment
and that was a strategy that Iwas able to use and take from
our leadership team when wetalked about it and present that
in my classroom and then, whenI saw that work, I was able to
tell my other staff members likehey, like this is a good
strategy to use, just talk tothe kids.
When you talk to them, theywill tell you a lot more than
(16:32):
you would actually think orperceive.
Speaker 3 (16:36):
It seems like what you're also telling the kid like
us following a kid out, ussending a kid out in the hallway
is like I don't want you it out.
As sending a kid out in thehallway is like I don't want, I
don't want you, I don't want youhere, you're be gone.
But like allowing them 60seconds and then going and
retrieving them with aconversation, is I want you here
, how can I keep you here?
And even if their answer is Idon't know how, it's like the
(16:58):
fact that you go and seek themout and like make them feel
wanted and like a part of theclassroom, I imagine is pretty
transformative.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
Yeah, and that's why I always say this is something
that I will say I learned withinmy first five years of teaching
is the fact that our classroomsare the most transformative
place ever.
We as teachers, have the powerto do so much great work in the
classroom, despite theuncontrollable factors that come
to play.
Like I'm a public schoolteacher, so a lot of the things
(17:29):
that happen that are out of mycontrol, due to things that are
happening on the state orfederal level, I have no control
over.
But what I can say is you know,I'm going to do everything I
can within my space to make surethat I'm still promoting that
positivity and because thatpositivity can help transform a
kid into being the person thatyou know that can be, to help
(17:49):
them recognize their owngreatness and be successful.
Speaker 3 (17:53):
And want to come to class on Monday.
Yes, because you will noticethat they're not there.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
Right on Monday?
Yes, because you will noticethat they're not there, right?
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Speaker 3 (18:34):
Well, speaking of like, just going back a little
bit to math, finding you know wewere talking about your first
day when you had them come tothe board and you're like, well,
this is maybe not the firstthing I should do.
Um, and I completely resonatewith that.
Like, day one of my math classwas never math, it was, it was
always about um.
I wanted to find out, liketheir math trauma, the math
(18:57):
trauma they were showing up within my class, cause I taught
foundational math most recentlyand it was um, it was just they.
They came in with so many mathscars.
They're just like, so beat downabout their math ability and
getting them in the room andbeing like, let's just reset.
Let's me, I don't.
If you have math nervousness,if you have math anxiety, math
(19:17):
trauma, cool, great, no, noproblem.
But as teaching algebra one ina middle school, which a lot of
some middle schools don't evenhave algebra one, not even
offering that level of math atthat age.
Yet I imagine, though evenpre-COVID, but especially
post-COVID, they're coming in acouple grade levels below that
ask, and can you talk about like, bridging those?
(19:38):
What foundational skills areyou noticing Like you've, no
matter what year, no matter whatyou know you're going to have
to hit, even though it's not onthat algebra one curriculum.
Do you have any secret saucethat you're pouring all over
that kind of foundational stuffand what's that looking like?
Bridging that gap?
Speaker 1 (19:52):
Yeah, and I want to speak on you bringing up math
trauma, because that is a bigthing.
A lot of people don't realizethe math trauma that kids
experience from their peers,from parents or guardians, from
teachers like me, saying I'm nota math person is a fixed
mindset.
Speaker 3 (20:08):
If I said that to my kid yeah, that exactly.
Speaker 1 (20:12):
So you bring up the whole bridge in the gap part.
A lot of it is.
It's not like a where I havelike a secret form, like, oh,
like, if you do like this andput this and that together, you
get to have an amazing classroom.
It's just more so, like yousaid, addressing that math
trauma.
So something I do at thebeginning of the year with my
algebra one kids at my school.
That's considered the advancedmath class so there's for all
(20:34):
the eighth graders and thenalgebra one for my um advanced.
I use quotation for advanced.
Yeah, you're quoting right nowfor advanced um for my eighth
graders and a lot of them docome in with some gaps from
missing from whatever theymissed from seventh grade, sixth
grade, fifth grade, whatsoever.
One of the things I know a lotof my kids do not have the
(20:56):
ability to achieve yet is a lotof times just making connections
from what they previouslylearned.
So something that I do with mykids often is they reflect.
I have my kids reflect and mykids say all the time Ms Barnes,
you always have this writing asa math class.
Well, you're going to continueto write because in the math
class you need to write.
And if your teacher doesn't makeyou write in the math class,
(21:17):
then you need to ask them.
You can start writing becausewhen they journal and they
reflect on what they've learnedand think about what level of
understanding that they're at,it helps them.
See, okay, I know I need tounderstand.
Let's say, for instance, you'relearning about graphing, I need
to understand the coordinateplane.
If I don't know how to plot apoint on the coordinate plane, I
(21:38):
cannot graph a linear equation.
So I do a lot of journaling andI prompt them to journal every
time I do a lesson, as an exitticket or even like as an
activity.
I have them sit for two minutesand I have them write down in
their notebooks or on their bellworksheet.
I want you to.
I tell them, write down.
What level of understanding doyou believe you are?
(21:59):
Do you believe at the beginning, approaching proficient or
skilled or not skilled?
Mastered?
where I have them write downwhat level they believe they're
at and how can you make sure youcan get to that master level?
Speaker 2 (22:13):
why do you believe?
Speaker 1 (22:13):
you're at that level, what skills do you believe you
are missing, based on the lessonwe just did with this concept,
and what can you do to make sureyou get to that ultimate level
of master where you can be theteacher and give the spark a
break, that's like.
But but me doing that, um,knowing and expecting that from
(22:34):
my students and being realisticwith myself, because I feel like
a lot of times teachers we have, we can have some unrealistic
expectation for our kids, whichis not, you know, and not a bad
thing to a degree, but at thesame time, it could cause us for
not being able to be open andvulnerable and honest with our
students when it comes toengaging them with their content
right and it can make us feellike a failure because they're
(22:56):
not at this level that that thestandards are indicating that
they should be at and I'm doingair quotes now should be at this
grade level, and that's achallenge for teachers
everywhere.
Speaker 3 (23:05):
It's a challenge to see the standards feel like
we're not teaching the standards, feel like our kids aren't at
the standard, feel like theydidn't arrive in our classroom
ready to learn that standard.
Talk about mindset we have tohave it, you know.
We have to have a growthmindset and also like be
incredibly compassionate towardsourselves as educators, because
we're moving mountains, becauseevery child is a mountain.
We got to move them all.
Speaker 1 (23:27):
No, I agree with that most definitely.
Yeah, so when I bridged the gapfor my algebra one kids, so that
was like so for me it comesdown to like the abstract part
of teaching, the concrete part,the abstract part is that
reflects where I'm really takingtime to understand, where
they're at Me, having one-on-oneconferences with the kids on a
(23:49):
certain days of the week where Iwill just meet with kids
one-on-one about their testscores, talk to them about what
they believe like, what happenedfor them to achieve that test
score.
Are they satisfied with thattest score?
Sometimes the reflection isindividual, sometimes it's peer
to peer reflection, sometimesit's a whole class reflection
and we have some straight up,honest conversations.
I'll pull up the class NWAscores, like their district
(24:12):
assessment scores as a class.
What that class score meant.
Is the class at grade level?
If the class is at grade level,what areas do we need to focus
on to improve it?
Or what areas do we need tostay?
Do we want to grow more in?
Speaker 3 (24:25):
Yeah, I'm like what's working?
Why are we here?
Why is it working?
Speaker 1 (24:32):
Yeah, we have some really transparent conversation.
I've been asking the kids.
I have conversations with thekids about their barriers to
success.
What is causing you to be notsuccessful?
Is it you?
Is it you come to class on time, keep you from being successful
?
Is it you um talk with a friendlike, what are you doing in
class?
Are you actively taking notes?
Are you asking questions?
I, I point, we, I point it allout with my kids.
(24:53):
We, as a class, we have thoseconversations to let so they can
see, for one, miss barnes wantsto see them succeed.
But for two, for them to seefor themselves that they have
the power to be successful.
It's all lies within them.
Speaker 3 (25:07):
It's just my job and you're there facilitating it.
It just seems like you are,like, you are offering
consistent, like um resettingjudgment, like you're not, you
don't like have a rap sheet, youdon't have a ledger, no, you
know, just every day like what'sgoing on.
Come back, come back, come back, reflect, reflect, reflect.
Speaker 1 (25:28):
Yeah, and it's a lot of reflection and I noticed that
I did a lot more reflectionthese past two years of me
teaching and I noticed a bigshift in my kids when it came to
their math goals Like, forinstance, this past year I had
about close to 60,.
I have close to about 70% of mykids meet their district
assessment goals and that's ahuge deal for my kids because
(25:49):
they're kids that people wouldnot expect to even care about
math, to even care about schoolin general.
But I had kids who wereliterally going from like a
fourth grade, fifth grade level,ending the school year with a
sixth grade, seventh grade leveland even though it may not be
an eighth grade level, it's wayhigher.
Speaker 3 (26:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:06):
It's all about that growth and I would tell the kids
I've shown them their score.
I'm like, look at the amount ofwork y'all have done and that
reflection was a big thing forthem because they were able to
say they can communicate.
Ms Barnes, I'm at a beginninglevel because I missed these two
days of lessons.
I need to go into a small grouplesson with you.
They're telling you what theyneed.
Yeah, exactly, and that's thegoal I believe every teacher
(26:30):
should want to have for theirstudents, especially at the
middle school level.
Students need to learn how toadvocate for themselves.
They're about to go off to highschool.
They're about to go off to highschool.
They're about to be adults.
I know my personal goal is thatI want my kids to be able to be
champions for themselves andadvocate for themselves, because
we live in a world where noteverybody's going to advocate
for them.
We have to be your own advocateand be your own support to
(26:54):
survive and to manage in thesociety we live in today.
Speaker 3 (26:59):
Yep, that was amazing .
It kind of bleeds into yourfuture educators class.
You teach a future educatorsclass.
Can you tell me what that'sabout?
Who's in it?
What are you doing?
Speaker 1 (27:11):
All right.
So future educators is a classof seventh and eighth graders.
just teaching them about theworld of teaching, oh my God
we're getting them that young,the eighth graders, just
teaching them about the world ofteaching.
So, oh my god, we're gettingthem that young.
Oh yes, and I love it because I, because in the class we
started this is my first year ofteaching it and in the class I
tell them we teach, we learnabout the different paths
teachers take.
So, whether you want to dosecondary, post-secondary,
(27:33):
elementary, um, infant,preschool, and then on top of
that, we talk about the abstractand concrete parts of that.
We talk about the abstract andconcrete parts of teaching.
So we talk about lessonplanning, what teachers do
during conferences, but we alsohave the abstract part about
being a community.
Why is it important forteachers to understand the
students' social and personalidentities?
At the beginning of the year,in the future educators class,
(27:55):
the kids were able to do anidentity activity where they had
to list out their personal andsocial identities and how those
identities will come up in aclassroom setting with their
students.
So how can I, as a teacher,make that kid feel supported in
my classroom?
So, that right there was sopowerful because, for one, I
wasn't really saying much.
The kids were able to.
I introduced the topic and thekids just facilitated the
(28:17):
conversation themselves and itgot them to be closer with each
other when they got to see howthose personal identities, like
their personality traits andtheir social identities
identities that we can't we werereally born with, that we
really can't change how thoseidentities interact and how they
coexist in the classroom spaceand also have them looking at,
(28:37):
reflecting on how some of theirteachers interact with them in
those spaces, and then we willhave conversations about you
know what happens in a class andspace and how can teachers
improve or even make better orkeep doing what they're doing to
make their classmates feelwelcomed I mean, this is stuff
that I did in my graduatestudies as a teacher.
Speaker 3 (29:00):
Can you imagine if we had access to that kind of
thing in middle school?
Speaker 1 (29:03):
It would be amazing.
I love it so much.
Speaker 3 (29:07):
I imagine that it transforms them as students too?
Yes, it does.
Their presence in a classroom,the way they show up in a
classroom, is completelydifferent.
I imagine their empathy for theteacher is like through the
roof.
Speaker 1 (29:31):
We had a discussion one day with my students and I
talked to them about you know,my struggles as a teacher.
I just came from my class theprevious hour.
They were just really not thebest that day.
They weren't showing at theirhighest level that day.
So when they when my futureteacher's class came in, I was
like you know y'all I'm going tojust let y'all know like my
last class was really like thistoday.
It made me feel verydisappointed, overwhelmed.
(29:53):
And they were talking.
We had a whole conversationabout you know what happened in
that class period and how thataffects teachers and their
overall work ethic and how thatcan drain the teacher's energy
and the kids.
They were understanding andsome of the kids gave like some
feedback.
It's like you know what I couldtell my teacher's having a bad
day because of how they interactwith the class, interact with
(30:14):
that class right after it and Isaid well, do you think that's
the right thing for the kids,for teachers, to do?
Do you think teachers have aright to let out their
frustrations or to be upset?
And we had a whole productiveconversation about teachers and
the amount of work andexpectations we have, that we
have on ourselves and it wasjust so powerful and
transformative for us to hearthem talk about you know, to
(30:36):
just to hear that empathy andthat connection with that being
validated, like who's gettingmore out of this?
Speaker 3 (30:43):
you or them, right?
I think we all.
Speaker 1 (30:45):
I think it's just like a whole, like collective,
like healing kumbaya.
But I love those kind ofmoments because it brings us
closer as a class and community.
And people tell me all the time, like Miss Barnes, like your
classroom is always quiet,they're always on task.
I don't really hear about kidsmisbehaving.
I'm like, well, I don't have amagic wand, I just I know the
importance of building acommunity and making sure kids
(31:08):
feel safe.
If I don't feel safe in myclassroom, then I know my kids
most definitely don't feel safein that classroom.
So we all gotta be on the samepage, as teachers and students,
to build that culture of careand that culture of compassion.
Speaker 3 (31:23):
Listening.
It sounds like you listen tothem just as much as they listen
to you, which is like the key.
Speaker 2 (31:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (31:30):
Well, speaking of keys, what is your, uh, what's
your advice for new teachers?
What's your advice?
So I consider myself a newteacher still cause I'm like I'm
only five years in, but youknow, that's amazing.
Speaker 1 (31:48):
Like the national average, you're above it.
So I met the goal, I met the, Imet the benchmark.
So but you know what like that?
Speaker 3 (31:52):
perspective of like humility probably keeps you
really sharp.
So like when you've been ateacher for 20 years, keep
thinking you're new right, yes,so, uh, I have a couple of
things.
Speaker 1 (32:03):
So one thing I would say is, as a new teacher, be
authentic, be yourself, know howyou are showing up.
In the classroom setting we gotto reflect as much as the kids
need to reflect.
When I first started teaching,I had to realize that, okay, I'm
(32:24):
showing up as a young Blackfemale teacher and I have a
sister and I'm a daughter, soI'm showing up as that.
And when I recognized how I wasshowing up, it kept me to be
authentic with myself andfinding ways to connect with my
kids, who probably share thosesame identities, and also for me
to put the work in for kids whomay not experience those same
things.
Another thing to my viceprincipal, my first year teacher
.
She sent me an article calledFind your Marigold and in the
(32:46):
article it talks about how newteachers have to find their
mar-go-olds.
Find your people who make youhappy, who bring you joy, and
that's the advice I would giveto any new teacher.
Find people in your school or,if there's nobody in your school
, join an organization.
Find people who you can vent to, but they will problem-solve
with you.
I was very fortunate, and I amstill fortunate, to have people
(33:10):
at my school who I can vent toand they will problem solve with
me.
They won't spew out morenegativity and complain with me,
and they won't tell you to stop, they won't tell you to not
vent Like cause.
Speaker 3 (33:21):
That's not the, that's not the answer either.
Speaker 1 (33:23):
Right, they will give me some strategies.
They'll listen to me Like Ihave an amazing instructional
coach.
She I'll call her my work mom.
She is legit.
Yes, I have to shout out Robin,to be fair, she is an amazing
instructional coach and shelegit allowed me to have a space
to vent.
But then what problem solved isstrategizing me on different
(33:45):
methods of teaching, when Iwould have those frustrations of
having students three gradelevels behind and I'm expected
to still teach a grade levelcourse at the same time and
still trying to meet all thestandards and hit the standards
so I can still meet the quota.
But having those group ofpeople there to strategize me
and to encourage me, to let meknow I'm still doing a great job
(34:06):
really helped me during myfirst few years of teaching.
So I would say that to any newteacher out there like keep
being your authentic self.
Don't let anybody at yourschool, your family, discourage
you from teaching.
If you know that you still wantto show up despite the
challenge, then do it and findpeople who will consistently and
(34:29):
motivate you and empower you tokeep doing that, because we got
the power as teachers we do andI I feel like, even in in any,
in any workplace, like we caneven just talk about, like maybe
, like my mom, my mom was anurse and she had really similar
advice.
Speaker 3 (34:44):
She was like you know , this is a hard profession.
Nursing is a hard profession,just like teaching, and so
they're.
Because it's hard and because,you know, if we, if we had magic
wands, we would be waving themall the time at everything,
every direction, bippity,boppity, everything.
And and she was just likeyou're going to, you're going to
(35:04):
be around people who, um, thenegativity is going to feel
seductive.
It's going to feel like theright place to go because it is
there is hardship, so it isgoing to feel seductive.
It's going to feel like theright place to go because it is
there is hardship, so it's goingto feel real.
But I love your advice aboutfind those people, even if
they're not at your school, evenif they're online they're all
their educators that you meet onsocial media, that let you vent
(35:26):
and then problem solve.
I love that advice.
Speaker 1 (35:31):
Yeah, it was most definitely.
I feel like if I didn't havethat, I would not have this much
wisdom or expertise in my beltwithout that Excuse me, without
that group of people.
Speaker 3 (35:45):
You're Mary Golds.
Speaker 1 (35:46):
Yeah, my Mary Golds Shout out to my Mary Golds and
they know who they are too.
Speaker 3 (35:51):
Well, actually we're going to probably move into
rapid fire questions and I'lljust reorder one of these.
So I'm going to ask you likethree that are like sentences,
they're not single words, sothey're a warm up to our rapid
fire round.
We'll do the first one.
Any favorite teacher, colleague, instructional coach, mentor,
shout outs that you want to give.
Speaker 1 (36:13):
Well, I just gave the shout out to Robin Tuperville,
but I'll do it again.
Shout out to Robin Tuperville,my instructional coach.
I call her my work mom.
She's amazing.
I love her so much, and anyschool district or school who
has her.
You're blessed.
It's a privilege to have Robinto the middle.
So that's that's how I want toshout out right now.
Speaker 3 (36:35):
Wonderful.
All right, are you ready forquestion number two?
Yes, warm up question Um kindof segued from your advice to
first year teachers.
What rookie mistake did youmake?
I'm looking at your face.
Are you reliving it?
What rookie mistake did youmake I'm trying to think about?
Speaker 1 (36:55):
I'm trying to I'm trying to think do I want to
share the one that's mostembarrassing or the one that you
know is pretty courteous BothOkay.
So I'll share, okay, so I'llshare, like the teaching mistake
and then like the wholeembarrassing mistake, so
teaching mistake that I made.
So when I first startedteaching out, I didn't realize
the impact and how important itwas to tell students what to
(37:18):
bring to class because I wasautomatically expecting them to
bring stuff to class.
So literally, I kid you not.
Like the first two weeks ofschool.
I'm like why these kids don'tgot no pencils, they got no
notebooks, no, nothing.
They should know to come toschool with it.
So that third week of teachingI was so upset and then one of
the kids they were saying well,ms Barnes, you never told us to
(37:41):
bring a pencil and a notebook toclass.
I'm like you know what I shouldhave told them to bring it.
Speaker 3 (37:47):
Yeah, there's no such thing, as y'all should know,
and unless we've said it yeah,and we don't.
Speaker 1 (37:53):
And exactly, I never said it.
I'm like you know what you'reright.
I never told y'all to bring apencil and notebook to class,
you know.
I just expect that y'all knowto bring a pencil notebook to a
math class.
You know stuff like that andwe've got to make instructions
explicit right, that part, yeah,that part, and then, um, the
second embarrassing question,the second embarrassing thing
(38:15):
that happened to me.
So when I was teaching I had onpress on nails.
I flung my finger, I flung myfinger, my press like gesturing
gesturing, something I think Iwas getting really into the
lesson.
the kids were grinding, grinding.
We were in the lesson I flingmy finger.
It's good Right, I fling myfinger, my press on nail fell
(38:37):
off and it landed in the middleof the floor and I can't even
like play it off or anything,because the kids, they saw it,
they just looked at me and I wasglad that none of my kids said
anything in that moment, only acouple of girls came to me like
(38:57):
after bringing me my nail backand I'm like thank you for not
doing that to me in the momentbecause that would have been so
embarrassing.
Speaker 3 (39:01):
But listen these kids .
They can like love on us inunexpected ways.
Speaker 1 (39:02):
It's weird it's weird , so you can't predict it.
You can't know exactly, youcan't.
If you're gonna wear nails,make sure your nails are secure
and make sure sure your handmotions are in slow motion.
Speaker 3 (39:14):
Exactly that part that is so funny.
Last longer warm-up rapid-firequestion.
Okay, describe your preschoolmorning routine, including your
go-to teacher outfit.
Speaker 1 (39:31):
Got you Okay.
So my preschool morning routinewhen I wake up I do like a
morning devotional, pray,reflect, then I do a 30, 35
minute workout, hit the showeryeah, I have to keep up.
That's like my my morning times.
I like my Wu-Tang momentsbefore.
I go into my job, so 30-35minute workout, stretch, shower,
(39:53):
eat breakfast and then I put onmy go-to work, my go-to work
outfits.
I have like a.
I don't have like a necessarilya per se outfit, but I will say
my style is very like vintage,kind of retro.
So I'm the type of person whowill wear like a nice little
blouse with the um suit pants orthe trousers and a cute little
pair of sneakers, and I try toaccessorize.
(40:14):
Yeah, yeah, I that's cute.
I like to look nice at work, butthat's kind of like my style
it's like business break danceyeah, yeah, basically business
break dance and you know I likeme a nice little pair of jeans
or some in the winter time, soMichigan jeans or some boots and
then a nice little sweater, butstill like that retro style.
So that's kind of like what Iwould say my style at work is,
(40:38):
but still comfortable, because Ido not believe in people who
wear flats like those brownflats or the heels to work I
would never do that as a teacher.
you would see me in some gymshoes or some canvas and as a
teacher you would see me in somegym shoes or some canvas, and
if I'm wearing sandals, thereare those plush sandals where
you could walk in there.
Your feet would not be hurtingBecause no matter how working
and standing I do in my jobabsolutely not.
Speaker 3 (40:58):
No, I'm going to make a controversial statement.
I'm going to say my feet arewarmer in a flip-flop than in a
flap.
Speaker 1 (41:05):
You know what I can see that I'm not going to be
flattened around in Michigan?
Speaker 3 (41:08):
Absolutely not.
I don't do anything in Michigan.
Speaker 1 (41:13):
Unless it's warm.
No, you know what?
It's warm in Michigan right now.
It's 90 degrees right now today, but in the winter months it
gets cold.
But you know what it's MichiganOne day it's cold, but then
it's warm.
Speaker 3 (41:27):
I'm going to come visit you when we've got a 60
degree forecast.
Are you ready for rapid fire?
Speaker 1 (41:34):
Yes, I can do some rapid fire.
Speaker 3 (41:35):
One word only.
Speaker 1 (41:37):
Okay, I mean and you know.
Okay, I got you you know I'mlooking at you like one word?
Speaker 3 (41:43):
Fill in the blank.
Speaker 1 (41:44):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (41:45):
I want my lunchbox to be packed with blank, and I
don't want it to have a singleblank.
Speaker 1 (41:54):
I want my lunch packed with pretzels and I don't
want to have a single ounce ofmayonnaise no mayonnaise.
Speaker 3 (41:59):
You're not dipping those pretzels in mayonnaise.
No, I do not like mayonnaise atall no.
All right, here we go.
Favorite school supply.
Speaker 1 (42:09):
Highlighters Least favorite school dress up day.
You know what?
At my school we did a moviecharacter day.
Actually, no, scratch thatpajama day.
(42:30):
And I did not care for a pajamaday only because that's
controversial so I know it'scontroversial, but sometimes it
depends on the kind of pajamaspeople put on.
There are some people who weara set of pajamas that I was not
expecting to see, and it don'tbe the kids sometimes.
Sometimes it's about staff andpeople who participate.
I'm like I didn't ask, I didn'task, I didn't ask.
Speaker 3 (42:58):
We need some stipulation.
We need some stipulation.
How about, like commerciallyapproved pajama day, like you're
going to be in like acommercial for books for your
kids?
Those are the pajamas you canwear.
Speaker 1 (43:13):
The cozy and comfy pajama commercials you see on
TikTok.
We like those, those, onlythose.
Speaker 3 (43:19):
Only Some of the other ones I don't be a big fan
of I can tell you've had thatfor a couple decades and it
shows this is the first timethat you've I'm a, I'm a convert
.
You're right, it's a tricky one.
All right, and last rapid firequestion what would you be
teaching if it wasn't math?
(43:40):
Or future educators?
Speaker 1 (43:42):
I'll teach law.
Yes, that psychology lawpsychology.
It's when I first, when I was akid, I actually wanted to be a
lawyer.
First, when I was thinkingabout public service, I wanted
to be a lawyer, but then my momtold me no, because lawyers lie,
and she said she does not wantto have a daughter who lies.
Speaker 3 (44:00):
You heard it here first, folks.
Speaker 1 (44:03):
And that was.
That was her, that was herreasoning, that was her
reasoning with her Christianchurch background.
She's like you don't lie,you're my daughter and lawyers
lie.
And I was in the second gradeso I was like, oh my gosh, I
don't want to lie, oh my God,that is adorable.
That was so amazing.
So that's how I went fromwanting to be a lawyer to going
into like math, but I still liketo read like law, psychology
(44:26):
books, so I will most definitelyteach something along the lines
of like law one-on-one or psychone-on-one.
I actually have my minor inpsychology, so I will most
definitely.
Speaker 3 (44:36):
Future educators is the first semester.
Future lawyers or futurepsychologists is second semester
.
Speaker 1 (44:42):
I love that.
You know there we go Teach ourkids how to you know Vanessa
Finagle their way around.
That's right.
Speaker 3 (44:47):
Cause they're not already good enough In the
non-liar way.
Oh my gosh, it has been such apleasure having you on this
podcast.
You are clearly like a leadinglight and in both like your,
your behavior and your mindsetand your attitude, but also in
(45:08):
just like your deep ingenuity oflike teaching a future educator
class, like I hope ourlisteners are like I can do that
and like it would.
It's literally like this, um,this like giving a there's like
circle that you're creating ofjust like hey, you want to make
our students better, help themunderstand teaching better.
Oh, it's so beautiful, kamaria,I'm so glad that you had joined
us.
Um, any last words you have forour listeners as a teaching
(45:31):
populace of listeners?
Speaker 1 (45:33):
Oh, wow, thank you for one for having me on the
podcast.
Thank you so much.
One thing I would probably justclose out with is some of my
teachers out there are young andveteran.
Keep being your authentic self.
Don't allow what you see in theclassroom to discourage you
that you're not making an impact.
You are making an impact.
All the connections, the words,the actions that you say.
(45:57):
It is hitting the kids way morethan you realize.
And just really, I kept sayingit, just really be a marigold,
find your marigolds, but be amarigold too in your setting.
Be a marigold, find yourmarigolds, but be a marigold too
in your setting.
Be a marigold, and then you'llbe surprised to see the amount
of growth and change you can doin a class within a year.
And that's what I would closeoff with.
Speaker 3 (46:20):
You heard it here, folks, be a marigold.
Thank you so much to ourlisteners.
Thank you so much, kamaria.
We'll see you later.
Speaker 2 (46:27):
If you or someone you know would like to be a guest
on the Teachers in Americapodcast, please email us at
shaped.
At hmhcocom.
That's S-H-A-P-E-D.
At H-M-H-C-O dot com.
Be the first to hear newepisodes of Teachers in America
by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, spotify or wherever you get
your podcasts.
If you enjoyed today's show,please rate, review and share it
(46:52):
with your network.
You can find the transcript ofthis episode on our Shaped blog
by visiting hmhcocom.
Forward slash shaped.
That's hmhcocom.
Forward slash s-h-a-p-e-d.
The link is in the show notes.
The Teachers in America podcastis a production of HMH.
Thank you to the productionteam of Christine Condon, tim
Lee, jennifer Coruvo, neil Fry,thomas Velasquez and Matt Howell
(47:15):
.
Thanks again for listening.
I really found a lot of my success really introduced
our growth versus fixed mindsetwithin our community building.
So during my lessons, mylanguage to them is centered
around a growth mindset and theycan understand.
Oh, ms Barnes expects me tothink this way and not just to
say I can't do this, but insteadsay you know what this is
challenging, but I'm going tokeep working at it.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
From paper and pencil to Wi-Fi and AI.
Education is ever-evolving.
On this new season of Teachersin America, we'll keep you on
the forefront of what's new.
We connect with teachers and edleaders to talk trending topics
and real issues, bringing youinspiring ideas that will
influence the future of yourteaching.
This past summer, host KayleeRhodes connected with fellow
(00:45):
middle school math teacher,Kamaria Barnes.
Kamaria teaches eighth grade,pre-algebra and algebra in
Wayne-Westland Community SchoolDistrict in Michigan.
She believes that with theright mindset and community,
students can take on any mathchallenge.
As a leader on her school'spositive behavior interventions,
andorts team, Kamaria is alsodedicated to fostering a
(01:07):
supportive classroom environment.
In this episode, she shares howshe nurtures a growth mindset
and builds community with herstudents and peers.
Now here's Kaylee and Kamaria.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
Welcome Kamaria.
I'm so excited to have you onthe podcast.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
I'm excited to be here with you.
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 3 (01:25):
Yeah, Okay.
So, Kamaria, where are youjoining us from?
Like?
You look like you're kind of ina so you like, unfolded a giant
manila folder behind yourself.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
I'm at the Cannon Public Library in my area, so I
went to the library to do thispodcast so I can have
distraction free.
Plus, I'm on summer vacation,so I've been in the house for a
couple of days now and I'm likeI need a new scenery.
So this is what we did.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
We came here any reason you're not joining us
from your classroom it's toosoon.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Give me to August.
Late August, late August, latelate August.
Give me to that, then you'llsee me back in my classroom.
But our last day was this pastFriday, june 7thth, and once I
turned my classroom keys in, I'mlike I'm not turning back
unless my principal tells me to,but if she's not telling me to,
I will be out of the classroom.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
I was like the opposite.
I like had this weird, likelove for my classroom during the
summer because it was empty,which is like a dangerous
feeling to have, because thenyou like get attached to it
empty, and then when the kidscome back, you're like what are
y'all doing here?
This is my giant office.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
Not gonna lie, that classroom piece, that empty
classroom piece, is surreal,like during my prep hours or
after school.
I love the piece of an emptyclassroom, especially when it's
your classroom and you can seeall the details you put it to
the boards, the decorations, themeanings of why you put the
posters up.
My kids be asking, ms Barnes,why you got this poster up here.
(02:51):
It don't got nothing to do withmath.
I'm like it's because I like it, I want to see it, it's for me,
it's for me, so I love it.
I just I love that emptyclassroom piece, so I hear you
with that.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
Let's jump into some questions.
But speaking of middle school,middle school math is so unique.
So, um, as a math teachermyself, I started at in English
and then I was like one of thosepeople that never thought of
myself as a math person, whichnow I know to never say around
my kids.
Um, but finding myself in themath classroom was the best
(03:23):
thing that ever happened to me.
Um, so why for you?
Why math?
How did you end up as a mathteacher?
Speaker 1 (03:30):
So I've always been a numbers girl.
I love numbers, I love thearithmetic.
I played the violin when I wasyounger and I realized me
counting the beats and countingthe measures.
I love that.
So I've always been into mathand I was like, okay, so I want
to do something math related fora career.
So I was thinking to myself,what can I do with math as a
(03:51):
career?
So then I also admired my mom alot.
My mom was a huge publicservant in Detroit public
schools and she served a lot offamilies with children with
special, with disabilities, andshe was an advocate for them,
showing families how to askquestions during the IEP, how to
have conversations withteachers about their child's 504
(04:15):
plan, empowering kids like me,little black kids like me,
empowering them on how toadvocate for themselves in the
class.
And I just saw my mom mom doingthat.
I'm like, oh, maybe I could dosomething with public service
and math.
But I never thought about mathteacher.
It never clicked to me, mathteacher.
But what clicked to me was whenI was in high school, my senior
year, I had a job where Iworked at a summer math camp as
(04:38):
a high school teacher assistantand I got to teach middle school
math, middle school studentsmath over the summer and I fell
in love with the craft ofteaching, not just the concept
of math, but just the building,the trust, fostering community,
having relationships, connectingwith people that you would
never thought you would connectwith.
I fell in love with that and Iwas like, wow, like I can be an
(05:00):
inspiration and do math at thesame time as a math teacher.
So all that whole experience ishow I end up here same time as
a math teacher.
So all that whole experience ishow I end up here as a fifth
year math teacher.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
That's beautiful, I mean, and hearing you talk about
like the relationship buildingand math.
Can you speak to a little bitabout how necessary it is to
build those studentrelationships and really foster
that community uniquely in themath classroom and the math
classroom space?
Speaker 1 (05:26):
Right, it is so important, like I don't think
people realize, like peoplethink math is just like straight
up, like numbers, like you getstraight to one answer, which a
lot of times it can be like that.
But math is such a challengingsubject where if you feel
defeated, you're not going to beable to do as well because of
that defeated or fixed mindset.
(05:46):
So, as a teacher, even likeduring my years of preparing to
be a teacher, or even in myclassroom experience, I realized
how it's so important for me toconnect with my kids when they
have those discouraging moments.
Me just giving them a liftingword and saying, hey, you got
this, like you already on theright track how that life would
go off for them and they willliterally be a whole different
(06:09):
mindset, a whole differentframework to just start hitting
the ground running with all ofthat.
So I was just super, supergrateful to just be able to
experience that relationshipbuilding with them in the math
classroom.
And if you don't know your kids, if you don't know your
students, you can't expect themto be able to be fully motivated
or to be able to have that.
(06:31):
What's the word for that?
work ethic or that effort towant to be successful in math.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
There's something weird about math where it feels
more exposed than maybe othersubjects.
Are you seeing that in yourstudents or do you feel that as
a teacher?
Speaker 1 (06:51):
When you say exposed.
Can you expound on that for mea little bit?
Speaker 3 (06:54):
Yeah, it seems like the failure to success ratio in
terms of emotions in class.
Coming from the Englishclassroom, it felt like having
students sometimes even likeread a poem in front of the
class that they wrote.
I was like they're probablyreally scared.
And then I became a mathteacher and I was like they are
(07:16):
way more afraid to come to themath board and do and do an
equation on the board than likeread a poem they wrote.
And so like this, like thisfear or this, like feeling very
exposed in the math classroom,like how do you, how do you see
that as a teacher and how do you, how do you confront it with
that growth mindset for yourkids?
Speaker 1 (07:34):
So it's interesting because during my first year of
teaching what you just said,exactly what I experienced my
first year of teaching.
So when I came into myclassroom, you know I was that
first year energy, like, oh mygosh, I'm going to change the
world and be an inspiration formy kids, I'm going to teach them
math and I'm going to be ableto do so many great projects and
(07:54):
they're going to make a movieof me, exactly, I'm going to be
Instagram famous and they'regoing to want to invite me on
the news station to show howgreat I have changed these kids'
lives.
And when I tell you that firstweek of teaching actually that
my first math lesson I did, itwas a lesson on teaching the
kids or just doing some reviewon like seventh grade math,
(08:17):
reviewing adding and subtractingintegers I'm like okay y'all,
so can we all come into the kids?
So I have a volunteer come intothe board to show me their work
.
We all come into the kids.
So I have a volunteer coming tothe board to show me their work
.
Mute, no one didn't want tocome up and I was like, okay, uh
, I was like, okay, how aboutyou?
So I saw, I saw your work.
It was great.
How about you come on up?
They came up, they put the wronganswer up there and at first I
(08:38):
was gonna, I was about to saysomething.
Then their other class issaying man, that's wrong.
Like there was just like reallylike tearing the student down,
and then the student and the twostudents started going back and
forth with each other and I waslike, oh, this is not how it
turned out it was a nightmare,my dreams of being on the news
stations.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
I'm going to be on the news for a different reason
Exactly.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
It just went all the way out.
So I was just so in that momentI was like, ok, so maybe
calling the kids up on the boardwasn't the best thing to do
right then and there, but at thesame time I was like I want my
kids to have that exposure, tobe OK to make mistakes.
So I believe in that moment Itook that moment as I could
(09:23):
laugh about it now, but backthen I was really like
embarrassed, I was shocked, Ididn't know what to do.
But in that moment it taught meand it showed me like, okay,
kamaria, we have to think aboutsomething different, like we
need to do something differentto try to get these kids to be
not afraid to mess up.
And that's when I started mywhole journey of researching
(09:44):
ways, having conversations andjust thinking of different
methods to encourage kids to beokay to fail or be okay to mess
up.
And that's when I startedlearning more about fixed versus
growth mindset and effort inthe math classroom.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
Do you talk with your kids explicitly about fixed
versus growth mindset?
Speaker 1 (10:05):
Oh, absolutely I do.
That's one of the that'sactually during my first two
weeks of teaching.
I don't teach no kind of math.
All we do is classroom building, setting up expectations for
our classroom, creating aclassroom culture and talk about
growth versus fixed mindset,and something I do in my
classroom called effort level,and we talk about explicitly
what a fixed mindset is, whereyou have a mindset that, oh,
(10:28):
your abilities are fixed,there's no purpose of growing,
you're born with your talents,you cannot grow, or anything
Versus a growth mindset thatsays you know what, if I keep
practicing, if I keep trying, ifI keep putting that effort
towards this task, then I can besuccessful.
And I have that conversationwith my kids explicitly during
the first two weeks where Iintroduce it to them outside of
the math context.
When we talk about you know, Ihave them break up into groups
(10:52):
where I show them videos orclips and different episodes and
TV shows of differentcharacters showing.
Yes, it's amazing and I love itso much because the kids, I
break them up into groups wherethey have to watch the clips.
I show the clips to the entireclass and the kids and their
groups have to determine if it'sa fixed versus growth mindset
at the character's display andthey have to write a reasoning
as to why and after that, thenext day we start talking about
(11:15):
okay y'all.
So, based on these examples, canyou name specific times what
you yourself has had a fixedmindset or a growth mindset?
And I have them reflect it,they write it down and then they
pair up with a partner and theyshare it with their partner,
and then sometimes I'll givethem the autonomy Okay, if you'd
like to share, just raise yourhand.
(11:36):
If not, then you share with thepartner.
And I told them we just havelike full-on discussions about
growth versus fixed mindset.
And then I asked them okay formath this year what do?
you believe is the perfectmindset to have when you are
doing math.
And I'm glad I do it before Iintroduce the math to them,
because a lot of times I feellike teachers or educators.
(11:57):
They introduce them to growthversus fixed mindset while
they're teaching a curriculum.
And when you're teaching it tothem, when you're teaching it to
a growth versus fixed mindsetbefore, like, why are you
teaching about hard content?
That's going to discourage thema little bit more.
It's going to be hard for themto really apply what they are
learning.
So, I really found a lot of mysuccess really introduced that
(12:19):
growth versus fixed mindsetwithin our community building.
So during my lessons, mylanguage to them is centered
around a growth mindset and itcan understand.
Oh, ms Barnes, expect me tothink this way and not just to
say I can't do this, but insteadsay you know what this is
challenging, but I'm going tokeep working at it.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
Yeah, it feels like you're so right to speak to the
intentionality of like.
I think a lot of us of educatorsare really reluctant to like
give up content time, but I'm sofascinated about how teachers
kick off their year because it'sso important to invest in stuff
like that at the top of theyear so that kids really
understand that you're notintroducing growth or fixed
(12:58):
mindset, you know in in monthtwo as a response to how they're
not doing well or something.
It's like laying the red carpetfor like.
This is the path we're going towalk, no matter if you have no
idea what kind of math I'm aboutto show you two plus two or
like define X.
You don't know.
So, either way, you have toapproach it with this mindset.
And it makes me curious aboutthis um, this group that you
(13:20):
lead of, uh, positive behaviorinterventions and supports how
much I mean like.
I imagine it's very difficultfor you to not bring in all the
skills that you have from thatinto your math class.
But can you talk to us a littlebit about just like that
isolatedly and like what that'sabout and maybe how it shows up
in your math class as yourskillset?
Speaker 1 (13:39):
Of course.
So one thing that I do so.
As you just said, I'm theleader of our positive behavior
intervention supports team at myschool and we are a group of
teachers who basically aretrying to create strategies to
support students in theclassroom and we usually focus
on behavior.
But the behavior goes to theacademics because if you have
(14:00):
instruction consisting in yourclassroom it transfers to the
student's work ethic.
So a lot of times in that groupI'm with my peers, I'm with my
administration, I'm with mybehavior team and we all talk
about different methods that weas a team can present to our
staff at staff meetings, methodsand strategies they can use to
(14:21):
promote a positive culturewithin their own classroom
setting.
So that's so.
That was definitely transpiredinto my classroom a lot, because
a lot of those strategies thatwe talk about I do try in my
class.
Speaker 3 (14:34):
Yeah, you pilot them.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
Exactly piloting.
So, for instance, there is onetime where I wanted to pilot a
chance for students to take abreak in my class, because we
had a big thing at our schoolwhere teachers wanted to send
kids out when they were beingdisruptive or not a task.
But a lot of us on theleadership team said, well, if
we do that, are we really doingrestorative practices with the
kids instead of just sendingthem out?
So what I do is I try to havethe kids take a break where, if
(15:01):
I'm sending them into the hall Ididn't know're coming right
back in after 60 seconds 60seconds two minutes.
you're coming right back intothat classroom.
You're not going to stay out inthe hallway for the entire time
.
You're coming back in and whenI come to talk to you, it's
going to be a conversation as towhat happened.
What can we do to relieve theissue?
(15:27):
What frustrations are youhaving?
And what I notice is when I askmy kids those questions,
instead of automatically puttingthem as the target or like
they're the issue, they're likethe problem but, I'm addressing
it as is like there's a problemthat they're having and they're
having a hard time processing.
They were able to answer thosequestions where I would have
students telling me you know, MsBarnes, this math is really
complicated, I don't get this, Idon't understand this.
It's boring, and I say thankyou for that feedback.
(15:48):
So what can I do as a teacherto try to help you become more
engaged?
What can we do right now, inthis moment?
Sometimes the kids will saythey'll give me a reason.
Sometimes they'll say I don'tknow, and I'm saying, well,
let's do it this way.
Can we just do this for todayand we'll think of something
else in the near future?
And doing that conversationshelped me build rapport with my
(16:10):
students and they created apositive classroom environment
and that was a strategy that Iwas able to use and take from
our leadership team when wetalked about it and present that
in my classroom and then, whenI saw that work, I was able to
tell my other staff members likehey, like this is a good
strategy to use, just talk tothe kids.
When you talk to them, theywill tell you a lot more than
(16:32):
you would actually think orperceive.
Speaker 3 (16:36):
It seems like what you're also telling the kid like
us following a kid out, ussending a kid out in the hallway
is like I don't want you it out.
As sending a kid out in thehallway is like I don't want, I
don't want you, I don't want youhere, you're be gone.
But like allowing them 60seconds and then going and
retrieving them with aconversation, is I want you here
, how can I keep you here?
And even if their answer is Idon't know how, it's like the
(16:58):
fact that you go and seek themout and like make them feel
wanted and like a part of theclassroom, I imagine is pretty
transformative.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
Yeah, and that's why I always say this is something
that I will say I learned withinmy first five years of teaching
is the fact that our classroomsare the most transformative
place ever.
We as teachers, have the powerto do so much great work in the
classroom, despite theuncontrollable factors that come
to play.
Like I'm a public schoolteacher, so a lot of the things
(17:29):
that happen that are out of mycontrol, due to things that are
happening on the state orfederal level, I have no control
over.
But what I can say is you know,I'm going to do everything I
can within my space to make surethat I'm still promoting that
positivity and because thatpositivity can help transform a
kid into being the person thatyou know that can be, to help
(17:49):
them recognize their owngreatness and be successful.
Speaker 3 (17:53):
And want to come to class on Monday.
Yes, because you will noticethat they're not there.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
Right on Monday?
Yes, because you will noticethat they're not there, right?
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Speaker 3 (18:34):
Well, speaking of like, just going back a little
bit to math, finding you know wewere talking about your first
day when you had them come tothe board and you're like, well,
this is maybe not the firstthing I should do.
Um, and I completely resonatewith that.
Like, day one of my math classwas never math, it was, it was
always about um.
I wanted to find out, liketheir math trauma, the math
(18:57):
trauma they were showing up within my class, cause I taught
foundational math most recentlyand it was um, it was just they.
They came in with so many mathscars.
They're just like, so beat downabout their math ability and
getting them in the room andbeing like, let's just reset.
Let's me, I don't.
If you have math nervousness,if you have math anxiety, math
(19:17):
trauma, cool, great, no, noproblem.
But as teaching algebra one ina middle school, which a lot of
some middle schools don't evenhave algebra one, not even
offering that level of math atthat age.
Yet I imagine, though evenpre-COVID, but especially
post-COVID, they're coming in acouple grade levels below that
ask, and can you talk about like, bridging those?
(19:38):
What foundational skills areyou noticing Like you've, no
matter what year, no matter whatyou know you're going to have
to hit, even though it's not onthat algebra one curriculum.
Do you have any secret saucethat you're pouring all over
that kind of foundational stuffand what's that looking like?
Bridging that gap?
Speaker 1 (19:52):
Yeah, and I want to speak on you bringing up math
trauma, because that is a bigthing.
A lot of people don't realizethe math trauma that kids
experience from their peers,from parents or guardians, from
teachers like me, saying I'm nota math person is a fixed
mindset.
Speaker 3 (20:08):
If I said that to my kid yeah, that exactly.
Speaker 1 (20:12):
So you bring up the whole bridge in the gap part.
A lot of it is.
It's not like a where I havelike a secret form, like, oh,
like, if you do like this andput this and that together, you
get to have an amazing classroom.
It's just more so, like yousaid, addressing that math
trauma.
So something I do at thebeginning of the year with my
algebra one kids at my school.
That's considered the advancedmath class so there's for all
(20:34):
the eighth graders and thenalgebra one for my um advanced.
I use quotation for advanced.
Yeah, you're quoting right nowfor advanced um for my eighth
graders and a lot of them docome in with some gaps from
missing from whatever theymissed from seventh grade, sixth
grade, fifth grade, whatsoever.
One of the things I know a lotof my kids do not have the
(20:56):
ability to achieve yet is a lotof times just making connections
from what they previouslylearned.
So something that I do with mykids often is they reflect.
I have my kids reflect and mykids say all the time Ms Barnes,
you always have this writing asa math class.
Well, you're going to continueto write because in the math
class you need to write.
And if your teacher doesn't makeyou write in the math class,
(21:17):
then you need to ask them.
You can start writing becausewhen they journal and they
reflect on what they've learnedand think about what level of
understanding that they're at,it helps them.
See, okay, I know I need tounderstand.
Let's say, for instance, you'relearning about graphing, I need
to understand the coordinateplane.
If I don't know how to plot apoint on the coordinate plane, I
(21:38):
cannot graph a linear equation.
So I do a lot of journaling andI prompt them to journal every
time I do a lesson, as an exitticket or even like as an
activity.
I have them sit for two minutesand I have them write down in
their notebooks or on their bellworksheet.
I want you to.
I tell them, write down.
What level of understanding doyou believe you are?
(21:59):
Do you believe at the beginning, approaching proficient or
skilled or not skilled?
Mastered?
where I have them write downwhat level they believe they're
at and how can you make sure youcan get to that master level?
Speaker 2 (22:13):
why do you believe?
Speaker 1 (22:13):
you're at that level, what skills do you believe you
are missing, based on the lessonwe just did with this concept,
and what can you do to make sureyou get to that ultimate level
of master where you can be theteacher and give the spark a
break, that's like.
But but me doing that, um,knowing and expecting that from
(22:34):
my students and being realisticwith myself, because I feel like
a lot of times teachers we have, we can have some unrealistic
expectation for our kids, whichis not, you know, and not a bad
thing to a degree, but at thesame time, it could cause us for
not being able to be open andvulnerable and honest with our
students when it comes toengaging them with their content
right and it can make us feellike a failure because they're
(22:56):
not at this level that that thestandards are indicating that
they should be at and I'm doingair quotes now should be at this
grade level, and that's achallenge for teachers
everywhere.
Speaker 3 (23:05):
It's a challenge to see the standards feel like
we're not teaching the standards, feel like our kids aren't at
the standard, feel like theydidn't arrive in our classroom
ready to learn that standard.
Talk about mindset we have tohave it, you know.
We have to have a growthmindset and also like be
incredibly compassionate towardsourselves as educators, because
we're moving mountains, becauseevery child is a mountain.
We got to move them all.
Speaker 1 (23:27):
No, I agree with that most definitely.
Yeah, so when I bridged the gapfor my algebra one kids, so that
was like so for me it comesdown to like the abstract part
of teaching, the concrete part,the abstract part is that
reflects where I'm really takingtime to understand, where
they're at Me, having one-on-oneconferences with the kids on a
(23:49):
certain days of the week where Iwill just meet with kids
one-on-one about their testscores, talk to them about what
they believe like, what happenedfor them to achieve that test
score.
Are they satisfied with thattest score?
Sometimes the reflection isindividual, sometimes it's peer
to peer reflection, sometimesit's a whole class reflection
and we have some straight up,honest conversations.
I'll pull up the class NWAscores, like their district
(24:12):
assessment scores as a class.
What that class score meant.
Is the class at grade level?
If the class is at grade level,what areas do we need to focus
on to improve it?
Or what areas do we need tostay?
Do we want to grow more in?
Speaker 3 (24:25):
Yeah, I'm like what's working?
Why are we here?
Why is it working?
Speaker 1 (24:32):
Yeah, we have some really transparent conversation.
I've been asking the kids.
I have conversations with thekids about their barriers to
success.
What is causing you to be notsuccessful?
Is it you?
Is it you come to class on time, keep you from being successful
?
Is it you um talk with a friendlike, what are you doing in
class?
Are you actively taking notes?
Are you asking questions?
I, I point, we, I point it allout with my kids.
(24:53):
We, as a class, we have thoseconversations to let so they can
see, for one, miss barnes wantsto see them succeed.
But for two, for them to seefor themselves that they have
the power to be successful.
It's all lies within them.
Speaker 3 (25:07):
It's just my job and you're there facilitating it.
It just seems like you are,like, you are offering
consistent, like um resettingjudgment, like you're not, you
don't like have a rap sheet, youdon't have a ledger, no, you
know, just every day like what'sgoing on.
Come back, come back, come back, reflect, reflect, reflect.
Speaker 1 (25:28):
Yeah, and it's a lot of reflection and I noticed that
I did a lot more reflectionthese past two years of me
teaching and I noticed a bigshift in my kids when it came to
their math goals Like, forinstance, this past year I had
about close to 60,.
I have close to about 70% of mykids meet their district
assessment goals and that's ahuge deal for my kids because
(25:49):
they're kids that people wouldnot expect to even care about
math, to even care about schoolin general.
But I had kids who wereliterally going from like a
fourth grade, fifth grade level,ending the school year with a
sixth grade, seventh grade leveland even though it may not be
an eighth grade level, it's wayhigher.
Speaker 3 (26:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:06):
It's all about that growth and I would tell the kids
I've shown them their score.
I'm like, look at the amount ofwork y'all have done and that
reflection was a big thing forthem because they were able to
say they can communicate.
Ms Barnes, I'm at a beginninglevel because I missed these two
days of lessons.
I need to go into a small grouplesson with you.
They're telling you what theyneed.
Yeah, exactly, and that's thegoal I believe every teacher
(26:30):
should want to have for theirstudents, especially at the
middle school level.
Students need to learn how toadvocate for themselves.
They're about to go off to highschool.
They're about to go off to highschool.
They're about to be adults.
I know my personal goal is thatI want my kids to be able to be
champions for themselves andadvocate for themselves, because
we live in a world where noteverybody's going to advocate
for them.
We have to be your own advocateand be your own support to
(26:54):
survive and to manage in thesociety we live in today.
Speaker 3 (26:59):
Yep, that was amazing .
It kind of bleeds into yourfuture educators class.
You teach a future educatorsclass.
Can you tell me what that'sabout?
Who's in it?
What are you doing?
Speaker 1 (27:11):
All right.
So future educators is a classof seventh and eighth graders.
just teaching them about theworld of teaching, oh my God
we're getting them that young,the eighth graders, just
teaching them about the world ofteaching.
So, oh my god, we're gettingthem that young.
Oh yes, and I love it because I, because in the class we
started this is my first year ofteaching it and in the class I
tell them we teach, we learnabout the different paths
teachers take.
So, whether you want to dosecondary, post-secondary,
(27:33):
elementary, um, infant,preschool, and then on top of
that, we talk about the abstractand concrete parts of that.
We talk about the abstract andconcrete parts of teaching.
So we talk about lessonplanning, what teachers do
during conferences, but we alsohave the abstract part about
being a community.
Why is it important forteachers to understand the
students' social and personalidentities?
At the beginning of the year,in the future educators class,
(27:55):
the kids were able to do anidentity activity where they had
to list out their personal andsocial identities and how those
identities will come up in aclassroom setting with their
students.
So how can I, as a teacher,make that kid feel supported in
my classroom?
So, that right there was sopowerful because, for one, I
wasn't really saying much.
The kids were able to.
I introduced the topic and thekids just facilitated the
(28:17):
conversation themselves and itgot them to be closer with each
other when they got to see howthose personal identities, like
their personality traits andtheir social identities
identities that we can't we werereally born with, that we
really can't change how thoseidentities interact and how they
coexist in the classroom spaceand also have them looking at,
(28:37):
reflecting on how some of theirteachers interact with them in
those spaces, and then we willhave conversations about you
know what happens in a class andspace and how can teachers
improve or even make better orkeep doing what they're doing to
make their classmates feelwelcomed I mean, this is stuff
that I did in my graduatestudies as a teacher.
Speaker 3 (29:00):
Can you imagine if we had access to that kind of
thing in middle school?
Speaker 1 (29:03):
It would be amazing.
I love it so much.
Speaker 3 (29:07):
I imagine that it transforms them as students too?
Yes, it does.
Their presence in a classroom,the way they show up in a
classroom, is completelydifferent.
I imagine their empathy for theteacher is like through the
roof.
Speaker 1 (29:31):
We had a discussion one day with my students and I
talked to them about you know,my struggles as a teacher.
I just came from my class theprevious hour.
They were just really not thebest that day.
They weren't showing at theirhighest level that day.
So when they when my futureteacher's class came in, I was
like you know y'all I'm going tojust let y'all know like my
last class was really like thistoday.
It made me feel verydisappointed, overwhelmed.
(29:53):
And they were talking.
We had a whole conversationabout you know what happened in
that class period and how thataffects teachers and their
overall work ethic and how thatcan drain the teacher's energy
and the kids.
They were understanding andsome of the kids gave like some
feedback.
It's like you know what I couldtell my teacher's having a bad
day because of how they interactwith the class, interact with
(30:14):
that class right after it and Isaid well, do you think that's
the right thing for the kids,for teachers, to do?
Do you think teachers have aright to let out their
frustrations or to be upset?
And we had a whole productiveconversation about teachers and
the amount of work andexpectations we have, that we
have on ourselves and it wasjust so powerful and
transformative for us to hearthem talk about you know, to
(30:36):
just to hear that empathy andthat connection with that being
validated, like who's gettingmore out of this?
Speaker 3 (30:43):
you or them, right?
I think we all.
Speaker 1 (30:45):
I think it's just like a whole, like collective,
like healing kumbaya.
But I love those kind ofmoments because it brings us
closer as a class and community.
And people tell me all the time, like Miss Barnes, like your
classroom is always quiet,they're always on task.
I don't really hear about kidsmisbehaving.
I'm like, well, I don't have amagic wand, I just I know the
importance of building acommunity and making sure kids
(31:08):
feel safe.
If I don't feel safe in myclassroom, then I know my kids
most definitely don't feel safein that classroom.
So we all gotta be on the samepage, as teachers and students,
to build that culture of careand that culture of compassion.
Speaker 3 (31:23):
Listening.
It sounds like you listen tothem just as much as they listen
to you, which is like the key.
Speaker 2 (31:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (31:30):
Well, speaking of keys, what is your, uh, what's
your advice for new teachers?
What's your advice?
So I consider myself a newteacher still cause I'm like I'm
only five years in, but youknow, that's amazing.
Speaker 1 (31:48):
Like the national average, you're above it.
So I met the goal, I met the, Imet the benchmark.
So but you know what like that?
Speaker 3 (31:52):
perspective of like humility probably keeps you
really sharp.
So like when you've been ateacher for 20 years, keep
thinking you're new right, yes,so, uh, I have a couple of
things.
Speaker 1 (32:03):
So one thing I would say is, as a new teacher, be
authentic, be yourself, know howyou are showing up.
In the classroom setting we gotto reflect as much as the kids
need to reflect.
When I first started teaching,I had to realize that, okay, I'm
(32:24):
showing up as a young Blackfemale teacher and I have a
sister and I'm a daughter, soI'm showing up as that.
And when I recognized how I wasshowing up, it kept me to be
authentic with myself andfinding ways to connect with my
kids, who probably share thosesame identities, and also for me
to put the work in for kids whomay not experience those same
things.
Another thing to my viceprincipal, my first year teacher
.
She sent me an article calledFind your Marigold and in the
(32:46):
article it talks about how newteachers have to find their
mar-go-olds.
Find your people who make youhappy, who bring you joy, and
that's the advice I would giveto any new teacher.
Find people in your school or,if there's nobody in your school
, join an organization.
Find people who you can vent to, but they will problem-solve
with you.
I was very fortunate, and I amstill fortunate, to have people
(33:10):
at my school who I can vent toand they will problem solve with
me.
They won't spew out morenegativity and complain with me,
and they won't tell you to stop, they won't tell you to not
vent Like cause.
Speaker 3 (33:21):
That's not the, that's not the answer either.
Speaker 1 (33:23):
Right, they will give me some strategies.
They'll listen to me Like Ihave an amazing instructional
coach.
She I'll call her my work mom.
She is legit.
Yes, I have to shout out Robin,to be fair, she is an amazing
instructional coach and shelegit allowed me to have a space
to vent.
But then what problem solved isstrategizing me on different
(33:45):
methods of teaching, when Iwould have those frustrations of
having students three gradelevels behind and I'm expected
to still teach a grade levelcourse at the same time and
still trying to meet all thestandards and hit the standards
so I can still meet the quota.
But having those group ofpeople there to strategize me
and to encourage me, to let meknow I'm still doing a great job
(34:06):
really helped me during myfirst few years of teaching.
So I would say that to any newteacher out there like keep
being your authentic self.
Don't let anybody at yourschool, your family, discourage
you from teaching.
If you know that you still wantto show up despite the
challenge, then do it and findpeople who will consistently and
(34:29):
motivate you and empower you tokeep doing that, because we got
the power as teachers we do andI I feel like, even in in any,
in any workplace, like we caneven just talk about, like maybe
, like my mom, my mom was anurse and she had really similar
advice.
Speaker 3 (34:44):
She was like you know , this is a hard profession.
Nursing is a hard profession,just like teaching, and so
they're.
Because it's hard and because,you know, if we, if we had magic
wands, we would be waving themall the time at everything,
every direction, bippity,boppity, everything.
And and she was just likeyou're going to, you're going to
(35:04):
be around people who, um, thenegativity is going to feel
seductive.
It's going to feel like theright place to go because it is
there is hardship, so it isgoing to feel seductive.
It's going to feel like theright place to go because it is
there is hardship, so it's goingto feel real.
But I love your advice aboutfind those people, even if
they're not at your school, evenif they're online they're all
their educators that you meet onsocial media, that let you vent
(35:26):
and then problem solve.
I love that advice.
Speaker 1 (35:31):
Yeah, it was most definitely.
I feel like if I didn't havethat, I would not have this much
wisdom or expertise in my beltwithout that Excuse me, without
that group of people.
Speaker 3 (35:45):
You're Mary Golds.
Speaker 1 (35:46):
Yeah, my Mary Golds Shout out to my Mary Golds and
they know who they are too.
Speaker 3 (35:51):
Well, actually we're going to probably move into
rapid fire questions and I'lljust reorder one of these.
So I'm going to ask you likethree that are like sentences,
they're not single words, sothey're a warm up to our rapid
fire round.
We'll do the first one.
Any favorite teacher, colleague, instructional coach, mentor,
shout outs that you want to give.
Speaker 1 (36:13):
Well, I just gave the shout out to Robin Tuperville,
but I'll do it again.
Shout out to Robin Tuperville,my instructional coach.
I call her my work mom.
She's amazing.
I love her so much, and anyschool district or school who
has her.
You're blessed.
It's a privilege to have Robinto the middle.
So that's that's how I want toshout out right now.
Speaker 3 (36:35):
Wonderful.
All right, are you ready forquestion number two?
Yes, warm up question Um kindof segued from your advice to
first year teachers.
What rookie mistake did youmake?
I'm looking at your face.
Are you reliving it?
What rookie mistake did youmake I'm trying to think about?
Speaker 1 (36:55):
I'm trying to I'm trying to think do I want to
share the one that's mostembarrassing or the one that you
know is pretty courteous BothOkay.
So I'll share, okay, so I'llshare, like the teaching mistake
and then like the wholeembarrassing mistake, so
teaching mistake that I made.
So when I first startedteaching out, I didn't realize
the impact and how important itwas to tell students what to
(37:18):
bring to class because I wasautomatically expecting them to
bring stuff to class.
So literally, I kid you not.
Like the first two weeks ofschool.
I'm like why these kids don'tgot no pencils, they got no
notebooks, no, nothing.
They should know to come toschool with it.
So that third week of teachingI was so upset and then one of
the kids they were saying well,ms Barnes, you never told us to
(37:41):
bring a pencil and a notebook toclass.
I'm like you know what I shouldhave told them to bring it.
Speaker 3 (37:47):
Yeah, there's no such thing, as y'all should know,
and unless we've said it yeah,and we don't.
Speaker 1 (37:53):
And exactly, I never said it.
I'm like you know what you'reright.
I never told y'all to bring apencil and notebook to class,
you know.
I just expect that y'all knowto bring a pencil notebook to a
math class.
You know stuff like that andwe've got to make instructions
explicit right, that part, yeah,that part, and then, um, the
second embarrassing question,the second embarrassing thing
(38:15):
that happened to me.
So when I was teaching I had onpress on nails.
I flung my finger, I flung myfinger, my press like gesturing
gesturing, something I think Iwas getting really into the
lesson.
the kids were grinding, grinding.
We were in the lesson I flingmy finger.
It's good Right, I fling myfinger, my press on nail fell
(38:37):
off and it landed in the middleof the floor and I can't even
like play it off or anything,because the kids, they saw it,
they just looked at me and I wasglad that none of my kids said
anything in that moment, only acouple of girls came to me like
(38:57):
after bringing me my nail backand I'm like thank you for not
doing that to me in the momentbecause that would have been so
embarrassing.
Speaker 3 (39:01):
But listen these kids .
They can like love on us inunexpected ways.
Speaker 1 (39:02):
It's weird it's weird , so you can't predict it.
You can't know exactly, youcan't.
If you're gonna wear nails,make sure your nails are secure
and make sure sure your handmotions are in slow motion.
Speaker 3 (39:14):
Exactly that part that is so funny.
Last longer warm-up rapid-firequestion.
Okay, describe your preschoolmorning routine, including your
go-to teacher outfit.
Speaker 1 (39:31):
Got you Okay.
So my preschool morning routinewhen I wake up I do like a
morning devotional, pray,reflect, then I do a 30, 35
minute workout, hit the showeryeah, I have to keep up.
That's like my my morning times.
I like my Wu-Tang momentsbefore.
I go into my job, so 30-35minute workout, stretch, shower,
(39:53):
eat breakfast and then I put onmy go-to work, my go-to work
outfits.
I have like a.
I don't have like a necessarilya per se outfit, but I will say
my style is very like vintage,kind of retro.
So I'm the type of person whowill wear like a nice little
blouse with the um suit pants orthe trousers and a cute little
pair of sneakers, and I try toaccessorize.
(40:14):
Yeah, yeah, I that's cute.
I like to look nice at work, butthat's kind of like my style
it's like business break danceyeah, yeah, basically business
break dance and you know I likeme a nice little pair of jeans
or some in the winter time, soMichigan jeans or some boots and
then a nice little sweater, butstill like that retro style.
So that's kind of like what Iwould say my style at work is,
(40:38):
but still comfortable, because Ido not believe in people who
wear flats like those brownflats or the heels to work I
would never do that as a teacher.
you would see me in some gymshoes or some canvas and as a
teacher you would see me in somegym shoes or some canvas, and
if I'm wearing sandals, thereare those plush sandals where
you could walk in there.
Your feet would not be hurtingBecause no matter how working
and standing I do in my jobabsolutely not.
Speaker 3 (40:58):
No, I'm going to make a controversial statement.
I'm going to say my feet arewarmer in a flip-flop than in a
flap.
Speaker 1 (41:05):
You know what I can see that I'm not going to be
flattened around in Michigan?
Speaker 3 (41:08):
Absolutely not.
I don't do anything in Michigan.
Speaker 1 (41:13):
Unless it's warm.
No, you know what?
It's warm in Michigan right now.
It's 90 degrees right now today, but in the winter months it
gets cold.
But you know what it's MichiganOne day it's cold, but then
it's warm.
Speaker 3 (41:27):
I'm going to come visit you when we've got a 60
degree forecast.
Are you ready for rapid fire?
Speaker 1 (41:34):
Yes, I can do some rapid fire.
Speaker 3 (41:35):
One word only.
Speaker 1 (41:37):
Okay, I mean and you know.
Okay, I got you you know I'mlooking at you like one word?
Speaker 3 (41:43):
Fill in the blank.
Speaker 1 (41:44):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (41:45):
I want my lunchbox to be packed with blank, and I
don't want it to have a singleblank.
Speaker 1 (41:54):
I want my lunch packed with pretzels and I don't
want to have a single ounce ofmayonnaise no mayonnaise.
Speaker 3 (41:59):
You're not dipping those pretzels in mayonnaise.
No, I do not like mayonnaise atall no.
All right, here we go.
Favorite school supply.
Speaker 1 (42:09):
Highlighters Least favorite school dress up day.
You know what?
At my school we did a moviecharacter day.
Actually, no, scratch thatpajama day.
(42:30):
And I did not care for a pajamaday only because that's
controversial so I know it'scontroversial, but sometimes it
depends on the kind of pajamaspeople put on.
There are some people who weara set of pajamas that I was not
expecting to see, and it don'tbe the kids sometimes.
Sometimes it's about staff andpeople who participate.
I'm like I didn't ask, I didn'task, I didn't ask.
Speaker 3 (42:58):
We need some stipulation.
We need some stipulation.
How about, like commerciallyapproved pajama day, like you're
going to be in like acommercial for books for your
kids?
Those are the pajamas you canwear.
Speaker 1 (43:13):
The cozy and comfy pajama commercials you see on
TikTok.
We like those, those, onlythose.
Speaker 3 (43:19):
Only Some of the other ones I don't be a big fan
of I can tell you've had thatfor a couple decades and it
shows this is the first timethat you've I'm a, I'm a convert
.
You're right, it's a tricky one.
All right, and last rapid firequestion what would you be
teaching if it wasn't math?
(43:40):
Or future educators?
Speaker 1 (43:42):
I'll teach law.
Yes, that psychology lawpsychology.
It's when I first, when I was akid, I actually wanted to be a
lawyer.
First, when I was thinkingabout public service, I wanted
to be a lawyer, but then my momtold me no, because lawyers lie,
and she said she does not wantto have a daughter who lies.
Speaker 3 (44:00):
You heard it here first, folks.
Speaker 1 (44:03):
And that was.
That was her, that was herreasoning, that was her
reasoning with her Christianchurch background.
She's like you don't lie,you're my daughter and lawyers
lie.
And I was in the second gradeso I was like, oh my gosh, I
don't want to lie, oh my God,that is adorable.
That was so amazing.
So that's how I went fromwanting to be a lawyer to going
into like math, but I still liketo read like law, psychology
(44:26):
books, so I will most definitelyteach something along the lines
of like law one-on-one or psychone-on-one.
I actually have my minor inpsychology, so I will most
definitely.
Speaker 3 (44:36):
Future educators is the first semester.
Future lawyers or futurepsychologists is second semester
.
Speaker 1 (44:42):
I love that.
You know there we go Teach ourkids how to you know Vanessa
Finagle their way around.
That's right.
Speaker 3 (44:47):
Cause they're not already good enough In the
non-liar way.
Oh my gosh, it has been such apleasure having you on this
podcast.
You are clearly like a leadinglight and in both like your,
your behavior and your mindsetand your attitude, but also in
(45:08):
just like your deep ingenuity oflike teaching a future educator
class, like I hope ourlisteners are like I can do that
and like it would.
It's literally like this, um,this like giving a there's like
circle that you're creating ofjust like hey, you want to make
our students better, help themunderstand teaching better.
Oh, it's so beautiful, kamaria,I'm so glad that you had joined
us.
Um, any last words you have forour listeners as a teaching
(45:31):
populace of listeners?
Speaker 1 (45:33):
Oh, wow, thank you for one for having me on the
podcast.
Thank you so much.
One thing I would probably justclose out with is some of my
teachers out there are young andveteran.
Keep being your authentic self.
Don't allow what you see in theclassroom to discourage you
that you're not making an impact.
You are making an impact.
All the connections, the words,the actions that you say.
(45:57):
It is hitting the kids way morethan you realize.
And just really, I kept sayingit, just really be a marigold,
find your marigolds, but be amarigold too in your setting.
Be a marigold, find yourmarigolds, but be a marigold too
in your setting.
Be a marigold, and then you'llbe surprised to see the amount
of growth and change you can doin a class within a year.
And that's what I would closeoff with.
Speaker 3 (46:20):
You heard it here, folks, be a marigold.
Thank you so much to ourlisteners.
Thank you so much, kamaria.
We'll see you later.
Speaker 2 (46:27):
If you or someone you know would like to be a guest
on the Teachers in Americapodcast, please email us at
shaped.
At hmhcocom.
That's S-H-A-P-E-D.
At H-M-H-C-O dot com.
Be the first to hear newepisodes of Teachers in America
by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, spotify or wherever you get
your podcasts.
If you enjoyed today's show,please rate, review and share it
(46:52):
with your network.
You can find the transcript ofthis episode on our Shaped blog
by visiting hmhcocom.
Forward slash shaped.
That's hmhcocom.
Forward slash s-h-a-p-e-d.
The link is in the show notes.
The Teachers in America podcastis a production of HMH.
Thank you to the productionteam of Christine Condon, tim
Lee, jennifer Coruvo, neil Fry,thomas Velasquez and Matt Howell
(47:15):
.
Thanks again for listening.
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