Dear future Parents,

My name is Katie Morris, and in a few years I'll have the amazing opportunity to teach your children; well, more accurately, your teenagers. It will be my first year of teaching and I will be across from a class of faces not much younger than mine. On day one I’ll be overly anxious, yet excited, to start my dream job.

I’ve already begun to compile ideas for my lessons, my classroom, and I’ve even started to think about my teaching style. Being a substitute teacher in Brockton Public Schools has given me a good idea of how to interact with students and how a classroom should function; and though I know I have a long way to go, I already have an idea of how I want to run my classroom.

In my room I want every student to feel as though they are in a safe space. I will accommodate your child, if necessary, whether it means making up a test or assignment that fulfills their exceptional learning needs, or by checking in with them if they seem overly anxious, or upset. When I was a student, I knew a few teachers that I could go to talk about what was going on if I was having a bad day or I felt like anxiety was ruling over my life, and I want to make sure that your children know that I can offer the same for them. I know that your child may not be fond of me, or may not take me up on the offer, but it is still extremely important to me to watch out for the well-being of my students and to make sure that they feel welcome in my class.

I’m going to be an English teacher, so your student will be writing. English might be their arch nemesis, or maybe they will think that their writing is the worst out of all of the people in the world, but I will try my hardest to help them to improve, and that will require motivation. I will push them to put forth their best work even if they don’t think they have the ability; the greatest challenges in life may sometimes lead to finding a new ability. In my high school creative writing class I was given assignments to write in different forms, and even though they were sometimes difficult, I found myself improve in my writing of poetry. Being forced to write with a specified meter can help your understanding of stresses on words in the English language. It was like a puzzle to figure out words that rhymed in the pattern and fit with the meter, but by the end, I was confident that I could write another poem with less trouble.

Your children will be challenged, and they will know that my room is a place they can always come to if they need help, but most importantly, I need you to know that I will never humiliate them. If your student has trouble with grasping new concepts, or if English is their first language and they are struggling with the open responses on standardized tests, for example, I will be on their side. If they get an answer wrong in class I will never insult them, or if they try to stir up those around them I will handle it as calmly as possible and make sure that they don’t feel attacked. I will show your children respect and expect to receive it, though I do know everyone can have a bad day, and not everyone will like me as a teacher. They just need to know that I will be fair to them and that they will not need to be afraid of having all of the attention pointed at them if it isn’t necessary.

Your student is a unique individual along with all of their classmates, and they will all have different strengths, learning styles, and comfort zones. I may be their teacher, but I am not, in any form, a dictator; I hope to open up my class for discussion and make sure that the students feel like they have a say in what goes on. Sometimes their suggestions might not fit with what’s best for the whole class, but their ideas must be heard, and it will be off of these ideas and experiences that I build my classroom. My first year may be shaky, and I may make a million mistakes, but I will grow and be as flexible as I can be so that I can give your children the best education possible. Please don’t hesitate to speak to me with any concerns, ideas, or comments you may have. Thank you in advance for allowing me to teach and learn from your wonderful children.

Sincerely,

Katie Morris

Future English Teacher