Amanda Crane MA ECSE

I attribute my success to a combination of people out there really doing a nice job of helping each other along and inspiring me, and then also I just keep trying. It was hard for me to finish school a few times, and it's just like, okay, I might just go a little bit slower, but I'm going to finish. Really taking the initiative to keep going when it was hard, and also being realistic when there were times that I needed to pull back. So I guess it's the combo of my personality and also just really getting lucky sometimes to meet some really inspiring people.

I would say find people that inspire you and really try and be a sponge and just soak it up. Part of what happens when you're doing that is that you are taking something that someone else is doing and you are making it your own. Even though you're sponging it up, notice for yourself what are your strengths and what are your passions, and work from that. Even when I do example lessons for people, I tell them you don't have to do it just like me, but you can do it just like me when you're learning. Certain things that I do might not be comfortable for other people. Like I love doing puppets, but not every teacher feels really comfortable with puppets, and I would never say that everyone has to do puppets. It's really about finding your own style. So I would say soak everything up, but look for what is your passion and your strengths, and then find your style.

A big thing for me is respecting the dignity of every person. I look for that for my students - when I'm providing a service, I want to make sure that they're part of it. I'm not just doing things to them, I'm doing things with them. I really respect other teachers too, and when I come into a classroom, I'm not belittling them or looking for things they're doing wrong. I'm coming in thinking how can I support them in what they're doing. I feel like everyone should get treated with mutual respect, even if we don't agree. I try to work through my anger so I'm not presenting a raw emotion to someone. I've got to figure out what is the solution, what can we do about this, or if I have to put a boundary, how can I do that in a respectful and professional way. I also really value accuracy - I'm looking at how can I clarify or make sure I'm being really accurate in what I'm asking for or what I'm stating. I'm always looking at long-term impact. I don't want to not address a child's need because it doesn't seem like that big in the moment, but I know it's going to be an issue later when they get older. On a personal and professional level, equity is huge to me - trying to make sure everyone is getting what they need and recognizing disparity and looking at how we can make corrections for that. I go to presentations to educate myself more on social justice issues and try and bring that back to both my professional life and my personal life.