Ms. Kam is an elementary school teacher based out of New York with a Master of Science in Education. Listen to our episode now by CLICKING HERE where we talk about her journey into education, transitioning from the classroom to remote learning, changes during covid and what the future holds. Be sure to checkout this episode for some tips that you can incorporate as a parent and as a teacher.
♡ Who is Ms. Kam?
Ms. Kam is a teacher based out of South Brooklyn who graduated with a dual master's degree in education in 2013. She has been teaching since that year and inspiring little kiddo's everywhere!
♡ How did she become a teacher?
When she was growing up she always played games where she was pretending to be in a classroom and teaching her little cousin. In her early childhood she had a kindergarten teacher that she says inspired her to become one. From then on she would always tell her mom she wanted to be a teacher and she ended up becoming just that!
♡ Requirements to becoming a teacher
So since she graduated in 2013 many things have changed not to mention we are currently in a pandemic. For example, when she finished she had to take the NYS education department of health set of tests and her credits from her masters degree transferred over. She also needed to do an person practicum but then it changed where you have to record a lesson and send it in instead. During covid this FTPA program has been omitted and another test was added. With that said, if you are interested in becoming a teacher make sure to look up your state's requirement and talk to other teachers for local requirements as well.
♡ Continuous Education
Like many fields, teachers are evaluated multiple times a year once they are certified which is a part of their continuous education and what is synonymous with being a life-long learner.
♡ Ms. Kam's Journey
Ms. Kam's journey is a rather unique one. She started out working one on one with special needs kids in a day care and the more she did it the more she realized she liked the classroom setting more. She then got her first full time classroom position at a preschool where she taught 16 students. Half of the students were in individualized education plans as they were kids with special needs and the other half included the general education students. However, that school shut down due to funding. That led her to her next opportunity to teach a second grade class. She first started out doing a similar combination model of learning as before but not she is a general education teacher for second graders.
♡ The pandemic impact on students
The pandemic has definitely developed some inconsistencies for children and their learning. In general, when school closes the children will naturally get upset. Right now she is teaching a fully remote class where they learn virtually and are operating remotely until June 2021. She meets with the students Monday through Friday twice a day trying to develop a consistent schedule via a live google meet
Note: Teachers may use different types of platforms
♡ Types of learning
During the pandemic there have been different variations of learning. These include asynchronous vs synchronous subtypes. In asynchronous learning the teacher can provide materials like a prerecorded video and they send you an assignment after whereas,
synchronous learning is teaching during live video class. There are pros and cons to each. You can also use a combination of both!
♡ Takeaways from the Pandemic
Ms. Kam believes that nothing can replace person to person learning. This opinion varies across teachers, students and caregivers. She believes that students need the on the spot assessment and the social interaction that they may be lacking behind a computer screen. She does note that with the pandemic we have had to become more technologically equipped. For example, Google classroom is working on new technological advances. All of these will shape the future of how teaching is done. For example, snow days may now be out the window. If there is a snow storm, students can undergo remote learning for that day.
Different schools of thought think different things but the end of the day it's what the parents feel is best for their child. We need to understand peoples opinions, respect them and have empathy towards those around us as these changes continue to occur.
♡ Social Emotional Learning
Ms. Kam believes social emotional learning is focused on a lot more in the real life classroom setting. She notes that the kids miss going to school and miss interacting with their friends. So hopefully, a hybrid model can help with some of this.
♡ Secret Tips: Teachers Edition
Create a safe space/safe outlet for students
You can create a virtual classroom to hang out! Ms. Kam and her colleague created something they call, Chillspace. This is a place where students can go hangout with their peers and talk after classes.
♡ Secret Tips: Teachers & Parents Edition
Be Patient with Children
It is important to understand there all types of learners (i.e.: visual)
♡ Secret Tips: Parents Edition
Feel free to reach out
Don't hesitate to reach out to your teachers for suggestions or extra support
♡ General Secret Tip
Always be Mindful
We don't know peoples personal struggles including the struggles of parents or caregivers of the children, the children themselves and the teachers. It's important to have that communication and understanding of one another. This pandemic has further brought this to light and is something we can/should work on.
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