World meet Me.

My name is Sarah Ballard and I am a teacher.

I am a teacher, a literacy specialist and a school support coordinator.  I am inspired to support our students and our teachers in the most meaningful way.  I believe in meeting eachother where we are at and guiding eachother towards what inspires us and leads us to our goals.

Teaching is hard.  It’s a rough gig.  A lot of people take teachers for granted and think that because we ‘get summers off’ that we are overpaid and underworked.  The truth is, teachers could use all of the support that they can get.  Teachers are the unsung heros of tomorrow.  They not only teach reading and writing, they teach the students integrity, compassion, empathy, honesty and kindness.  Then they fall in love.  They fall in love with the students, year after year, and then send them off to the next teacher all the while hoping that they made a positive difference in their lives and that the students remember their multiplication facts next year in math class.

Teaching is hard, but teaching during a pandemic is harder.  Teachers are exhausted, anxious, scared and just burnt-out.  It is our job as fellow teachers, leaders and friends to lift eachother up.  Share the great things that are working for us and making our lives a little easier.  Talk about the what excites us and drives us to be better than we were yesterday.  Offer support and guidance when we see our co-workers stumble.

This is my why.  I want to share some insight into what other great educators are doing.  I want to talk about the things that make us feel excited when we wake up in the morning.  I want to be a leader who lifts people up and helps them reignite their passion.

As a part of my own growth this year, I have started walking the path towards my graduate degree; Teaching, Learning, and Leadership.  My very first course on this journey is EC&I Designing for Online and Blended Learning.  I am excited about this course because it has already helped my check a few things off of my bucket list, which are to start a blog and join twitter.  Through this course I hope to learn new ways to support the fellow teachers that I work with every day as they tranisition back and forth from online to in-person learning. They are the true rockstars.  I am also looking forward to discovering new and interactive ways to engage students while maximizing their learning.  Last but not least, I am excited to begin building modules through moodle, as this is something that my coworkers currently do and it is something that we could use to streamline some of the professional development work that we create.

3 Replies to “World meet Me.”

  1. Welcome to the blogging and Twitter world! I enjoyed your line “Then they fall in love. They fall in love year after year…”. It’s so true! We had a tough loss in October and it was a stark reminder to not only love our kids but to make sure they know how big they are in our hearts. Instead of just thinking it, or talking to other teachers about it, I have taken to reminding students, “You know how much we care about you, right? That we are rooting for each and every one of you? Even when it feels like tough love, it’s still love.” Especially now, while people in schools are burnt out from this pandemic as you mentioned.

    And welcome to your master’s! Sounds like we’re in the same program and also just starting out so my guess is we’ll have a few classes together throughout our studies. And if you need help with Moodle, I’ve used it for a couple of fully online courses over the years (though I think our version is less up-to-date than the University).

    It sounds like you are a wonderful leader in your school. Happy to “meet” you and can’t wait to see what you come up for your course design this semester!

  2. Hi Sarah,
    Thank you for your authentic first blog post! You have truly shined a spotlight on what it means to be a teacher right now. We definitely need to connect with each other and make sure to help lift each other up. It sure sounds like that is just the kind of teacher, leader and friend that you are. I am also starting my Masters journey with this class in the Teaching, Learning and Leadership program. Wishing you the best on this journey and hope to learn more from you.
    Kendra

  3. Laurie Blair Dueck says: Reply

    Hi Sarah,
    I am inspired after reading your blog. You sound like a very positive, encouraging leader that teachers would be lucky to work with. You shared an important message about the value of teachers and the reality of teaching. I hope your blog reaches people beyond our profession.
    This is also my first class on my Masters journey. I look forward to learning from you and along side you during this journey. All the best!
    Laurie

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