Editor’s note: To read profiles of all 2015-2016 Blackboard Awards honorees, click HERE!
Kevin Miller
Grade 8 Us History, Grade 7 Physical Education, Grades 6-8 Student Government, And Grades 6-8 Digital Technology
Manhattan East School for Arts and Academics—M.S. 224
Tell us about some of the special joys and challenges you’ve experienced as a teacher.
The second greatest part of being a teacher is that every day you are granted an opportunity to make a significant impact on a young person’s life in a positive way. The greatest part of being a teacher is being gifted the opportunity to learn from your students’ experiences and to be allowed to see the world through their eyes for a few moments each day. The hardest challenge as a teacher is to accept that sometimes no matter how hard you try and no matter how much you care, there are times when there is nothing you can do, and it is up to the student to use what he/she has been taught to make the right decision in life or on the exam.
Please share a special project or achievement (or two) that you are particularly proud of from this year.
One project that I am especially proud of this year was a public service announcement that we created in our student government elective. Our students wanted to put on an anti-bullying assembly that was realistic and relatable to our student body. In order to do this we delegated roles between the eighth grade class and the sixth/seventh grade class. The eighth graders worked on an anti-bullying presentation using Microsoft PowerPoint Online to collectively collaborate on various topics about bullying prevention, while the sixth/seventh graders wrote, directed, and acted in two five-minute skits about physical bullying and cyber bullying. The entire presentation with the video skits is set to be given at an assembly.
Over the course of your career, what do you consider one or two of your greatest accomplishments?
Over the course of my short career, I have had many moments that I would consider some of my greatest accomplishments. However, while reflecting, one experience with a student sticks out in my mind as one of my proudest moments thus far. In the past, I had the opportunity to teach a student with severe attendance problems and concentration issues. Some faculty members assumed that her poor grades where due to her lack of care or inability to complete the work. Nevertheless, I took this student on as a personal project to identify the root of her apathy and poor attendance. Over the course of the year, I worked with the student day in and day out in my class and challenged her to improve her attendance and promptness. Every day that she was absent or late I made it a point to speak to her about it. The student began to see that I was invested in her and cared about her success. We identified the issue with her attendance and we got her the support she needed at home. As result she became more dedicated in class and eradicated her attendance issue. She turned her misfortunes from excuses into motivation for success. In the end, she graduated with a 90+ average in social studies and scored a 94 on the eleventh-grade NYS US History Regents as an eighth grader. She still comes back to visit to show me and fellow faculty members her high school report card with pride.
What drives you? What keeps you motivated and committed to being a dedicated and hard-working educator?
The thing that drives me as an educator is the idea that I am changing the world one student at a time. As cliché as that sounds, I truly believe that as a teacher I have the ability to make a positive impact on the world every day. The second thing that drives me as an educator and a person is that every day I realize I am lucky to be working with a great administration, faculty, student body, and parents who do everything in their power to achieve success at my school. The last thing that motivates me to be committed to my craft is that I was blessed with wonderful family and friends who support me unconditionally, and if I can share that feeling of unconditional support with my students then I know there is no limit on what they can achieve.
Any special advice for parents on how they can best support their children academically at the grade level you teach? And more generally? And how they can have the most productive relationship with their children’s teacher and school?
The only advice I would give to parents is to be involved in your children’s life. Ask them about their day and what they learned. Ask them about what happened in school, what interactions they had with other students. Ask them if they have homework and try to help them with it to show them you are vested in their education as well as their well-being. I encourage parents to lead by example. As a parent, it is not only important to explain to your children what you expect of them, but to show them the correct way to behave. In order to have a productive relationship with a teacher, it is important to understand the teacher’s ideology and what they are trying to teach your child. As a teacher, I can preach about respect, accountability, and dedication, but if it is not enforced at home my words fall on deaf ears. Thus, as a parent, it is essential to reinforce what is being taught in schools at home. If your ideology of education does not match your child’s teacher’s, it is important to ask the teacher to have a conversation and air your grievances with respect, focusing on how they made you or your child feel rather than attacking the teacher by focusing on what you think they did wrong. I ask parents to remember that the blame game does not solve your child’s issues, it only creates more of a divide in the classroom and hinders your child’s ability to learn. Parents and teachers need to share information and have an open line of communication in order to better understand the children to foster a more conducive learning environment.
