Last summer, eighth grade science teachers Esta Lamkin and Morgan Collins teamed up to enrich their classroom lessons through WakeEd Partnership’s SummerSTEM program.
As I reflect on the 2019-2020 school year, despite its challenges, it was a year of new beginnings and growth. Seemingly overnight, I had to adapt to a new normal, one that did not involve interacting with my students, coworkers, and administrators on a daily basis.
We have a saying at York Elementary School on the first day of school: “Get ‘em in. Get ‘em fed. Get ‘em home safely.” Since we transitioned to virtual learning, my mantra has changed. “Get ‘em in. Get ‘em hooked. Keep ‘em excited.”
As an Elementary School Teacher, my job is to build upon a child’s innate curiosity, to turn their love of exploring, questioning, and discovering into the foundation for their academic success. In our ever-changing world, my top priority is to equip first graders with the hard and soft skills they need to look at a problem and create solutions.
Like any educator you would talk to right now, the 2019-2020 school year has been one that I know I will never forget. My name is Magan Keith and I am an 8th grade English/Language Arts and Social Studies teacher at Wendell Middle School.