Voices from the Classroom: The State Teachers of the Year Podcast

Voices from the Classroom: The State Teachers of the Year Podcast


S2. Ep3: Let Go to Grow - LaChanda Garrison, 2021 Department of Defense Education Activity Teacher of the Year

November 03, 2021

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>> Hey, everyone. Sarah Brown Wessling here from the Council of Chief State School Officers' National Teacher of the Year Program and I'm excited to introduce Voices from the Classroom, the State Teacher of the Year Podcast. CCSSO's National Teacher of the Year Program provides a platform for exceptional educators to elevate issues that affect teachers and their students, expand their leadership roles and inform policy and practice. I was named National Teacher of the Year in 2010 and since then, I've been committed to sharing the stories and elevating the voices of the State Teachers of the Year. It is my hope that this podcast will give you insight into the incredible work they do. The 2021-2022 School Year has commenced and many educators have used their experiences over the last two years to reflect on how they can better serve students to ensure their overall success. In these new episodes, the 2021 State Teachers of the Year will share how they used the shift in learning environments as an opportunity to refine their approach to teaching so they can better support students and their varying needs. You can join the conversation on social media by using the hashtag #ntoy21 or by visiting us online at ntoy.org, that's N-T-O-Y.org.


>> So this is Carolyn Phenicie, Press Secretary at CCSSO. Welcome LaChanda and thank you for joining us for this conversation today. Could you start by introducing yourself?


>> Yes. Hi, my name is LaChanda Garriso and I am the 2021 DoDEA State Teacher of the Year. And I am an elementary school teacher in Bahrain off the coast of Saudi Arabia.


>> So we know over the past two years so much about education has had to change with the pandemic, but what is one practice, strategy, concept, or ideology that you do plan on keeping for the school year?


>> So, one concept that I plan on keeping, most definitely for this school year, is having a trauma-informed mindset along with using resilience practices that I started incorporating a lot last year when we were going back and forth and teaching remote -- between teaching remotely and in-person. And I found that both of those, the mindset and using those practices really helped my students to just regulate their emotions so that they could learn no matter what setting we were in.


>> And students who are in the defense department school system, I would imagine, have additional sort of needs than kids who are not maybe moving as much or [inaudible] around the word don't have.


>> Yeah, they have very unique needs. I think all types of demographics have certain needs that are specific to the space and the environment. And most definitely, the needs of our students are unique and different and thus require just some special attention and care, especially with moving a lot, having to make friends on a regular basis, going to new schools. Maybe there's a shift in family dynamics. So, you never know what they are carrying with them when they come into a new space.


>> So even as you are, you know, keeping a trauma-informed mindset and these resilience principles in mind for this year, is there something that you are getting rid of that just, you know, you've decided not working anymore?


>> So, one of the phrases that I like to say is if it's not working for students, it's not working. So, just having that mindset of being able to make changes but I have to be honest, that was a very intimidating and scary mindset to embrace because when I went back into the classroom, I thought, "OK, I got this." My classroom management is on point. I can teach anyone. I can teach anything. And yes, although I can do those things, I have to still be able and be willing to grow and learn to support my students who were in front of me every day. And I have to be honest again, that I didn't embrace that mindset out of fear because of the unknown, like what am I going to use instead of these practices that I know? And I would rather use a practice that I knew that may not have been very efficient or just good for my students versus trying something new that would make all of my students feel seen, heard and valued. So, just learning how to embrace change and learning and having that learner's mindset because if it's now working, it's just not working for them. It's not good for them, so letting go of making excuses.


>> Is there some like specific practice that you were doing before that you just, this isn't working for kids. It's time to go?


>> Yeah. One of them, just my behavior plan that I had and that I was using, and I remember I have a mentor teacher. I have a couple of mentors. But one of mentors came into my classroom and she said, "Hey, LaChanda, did you see so-and-so's face whenever you had called him out basically?" And I had to like admit like, "Yeah, I did see his face." And that's just how she left it. And it just made me realize what I was doing wasn't working. And it was actually harmful. And I promise you that weekend, I went and read Whole Brain Teaching. I really liked that concept. So, I read like the whole book that weekend, came back on Sunday. We go to school Sunday through Thursday. And I came back to class on Sunday and apologized to all of my students, and just said, "I'm sorry. I've been doing things that haven't been working for all of us and it hasn't made many of us feel good. So we're trying something new and we're going to see how it goes." And that changed my life because I'm like, "Oh, if it's doing that to even one child, if what I'm saying or doing or communicating to one child like that can cause that much damage, I have to change. I have to find something that is going to make my students want to be in class and enjoy being in school and feel valued." And, you know, there are time and place for things but I didn't like what I was doing. But I also had a great mentor who was able to say, "What do you think about this," which is very powerful. If I didn't have that, I'd probably be doing some of those awful practices. I hope I wouldn't be but you don't -- I mean, you have to have people who are around you who you trust who can say, "Hey, LaChanda, do you think that that's the best thing?" And for me to reflect and take what they have to say in love and care and say, "Maybe, I need to make some changes." And now, I just make changes all the time.


>> Yeah. So she's sort of a teacher to you too in a way.


>> Yes, thank God. She did. It changed my life. It changed the trajectory of my career.


>> Yeah. Oh, that's wonderful. Any other sort of fun back-to-school moments that you'd like to share as we wrap up?


>> I love -- I've been in and out of my school. You know, we've had our Teacher of the Year, year, and seeing some of the old students who I had a few years ago and then them just remembering, "Oh, I remember you," and, "Oh," like coming up and wanting to hug you. You haven't seen them in so long because we've been in and out of school and then I've been on sabbatical. Just knowing that they remember, they remember how it was when we were in the classroom together. And to me, that's always very special especially coming back into this year of COVID still around. So, just knowing that some of these students are like, "OK, I remember you and you made me feel special," is pretty fantastic.


>> I think that is a great place to leave it. So thank you so much.


>> Thank you for having me.


>> Thank you for listening to the latest series of Voices from the Classroom, the State Teacher of the Year Podcast. This podcast is brought to you by the Council of Chief State School Officers' National Teacher of the Year Program. It's our honor to elevate the voices of educators across the country and provide them with a national platform to amplify their message and advocate on behalf of their students and colleagues. Please, share these lessons on social media with the hashtag, #ntoy21. That's hashtag N-T-O-Y-2-1. Let's keep the conversation going.