ED Teacher: Molly Kane
Today I have an interview with Molly Kane, known as startteaching_ on Instagram. As you know, most of my connections with teachers are made through social media because we are always scrolling on social media. I connected with Molly and could tell she truly cared about her students. After reading her interview and how she fought to teach her ED class you can truly see how much she cares:
1. What did you want to be when you were growing up?
Ah I wanted to be so many things. I thought I could have 100 different jobs!! Now as a teacher, somedays it feels like I have 100 jobs :)
In college I changed my major 7 times and always circled back to working with children and their families.
2. Is there a moment that sticks out to you that you remember from school with a teacher you had growing up?
I went K-12 public school in the same town that I now teach in. I loved the schools I attended, I remember my teachers being interactive and funny. In first grade I remember getting pulled out for small group intervention for reading and the teacher telling my parents I was a "poor reader and I should be held back". I was not held back and ended up being an average and slow reader until high school. Now, reading is one of my favorite hobbies. I was lucky to have an amazing high school AP English teacher who provided all sorts of wonderful books and asked the best questions surrounding the literature. I often think of those two moments during my teaching career, just because a student may have one bad experience doesn't mean another teacher can't change it around with a little positivity and encouragement.
3. What do you teach, how long have you taught, and what did you have to do to get there in terms of schooling?
I currently teach the intermediate 3-5th grade self contained STAR program. STAR stands for Social/Emotional Teaching and Reinforcement other common names our program may be referred to are ED or SEC (Social Emotionally Challenged). I have taught for 4 years at the same wonderful school but have not always taught this program. I started by teaching gen ed, grades: 1st, 3rd, and 4th then switching to STAR. I graduated from college with a degree in Human Development and Family Studies and went on to receive my teaching license from an alternative route program, The Nevada Teacher Corp. It took a summer of student teaching and year of observations and evaluations along with passing a state praxis test to receive my teaching license. Currently, I have 6 years in my position to work on and receive a masters in special education to continue working with ED students.
4. What is your go-to tool you use with children?
My go to tool is listening. I find that by listening to the students in my class tell stories I can pick up on their favorite things, hobbies, family members, worries, hopes and dreams. When I can bring these things back up later in conversation or during a time when the student may need a break, I found the student is more likely to trust me, feel safe, and the situation is easily de-escalated. I want the students in my class to know I will listen, that I care about them, I care about what they have to say, and I care about what they are feeling. Listening leads to relationships and as educators we know relationships are key to teaching!
5. Is there anything you do to accommodate your students and how often do you find yourself using that accommodation?
I use accommodations and modifications all day long. They are all different depending on the student, their needs, and the moment. I find that by making accommodations all day help the social emotional regulation of our class. Rather than pushing students to feel frustrated and uncomfortable, I make an accommodation to help them reach their end goal in a less frustrated manner.
6. What inspired you to teach ED students?
Having taught at the same school I observed our self contained program over the course of three years. I observed three different teachers come and go, frustrated and exhausted teachers, bored students, structural damage to the school, student on student violence, little to no focus on academics, and fear from other staff members surrounding the program. It made me sad that such stigma surrounded not only these students but this program. When I finished teaching 4th grade I asked my administrators if I could teach the class. There were many long discussions that went into making the final decisions but they said yes and the class was mine. All the talk was easy, now that the class was really mine, I was scared. I had plans, ideas, thoughts, but I started doubting myself if they would really work. I flushed all the negativity away and went forth with the plans I had worked up over that summer. I talked to everyone I could think of to gather ideas and thoughts on how to make this the most effective class. During the school year I adapted and made modifications, received help from everyone and it became a class and program I am very proud of and cannot wait to teach again.
7. Any advice for a new teacher?
Don't be afraid to ask questions...the teachers that have been there forever probably have the same question.
Remember to take time to breathe and look around every now and then to remember moments in your classroom...soak up all the good the year has to offer (there is so much)!
Never compare yourself to another teacher, learn from them, adapt ideas, take suggestions, grow...but don't compare yourself.
Don't spend all your time at school, go home, prioritize self care (I know that is a hard one)
8. How was it working virtually during COVID shutdowns, do you know what next school year looks like yet?
Initially it was difficult working virtually during the shutdown. Trying to navigate the new guidelines and requirements each week was stressful. I found that we left school on a Friday, telling students we would see them after the weekend and then we were out for the remainder of the school year. My students had a hard time understanding why we were not returning, I answered that we all had to be safe and healthy and then we could be back together in the classroom. Most of my families did not have internet access at home so reaching them virtually was not an option. Many parents were laid off and the increased stress or financial burden, they moved in with family or changed their phone numbers without notifying the school. All of these obstacles made it harder and harder each week to communicate with students and their families. When I did reach families I was often their first person/adult contact and they took their stress out on me, that took me a while to realize and wasn't pleasant at first but I got it. I sat back and realized some of these families had been put through unimaginable trauma and I was grateful to hear from them. When we talked we talked about resources and strategies to use at home, I tried to keep all conversations short, light, and directed to what they needed.
Next school year is still being discussed. I have listened to every board meeting and still don't know where we are headed in the fall. I wish there was more discussion regarding special education but unfortunately there has not been much guidance or information given on the topic. The plan proposed is a hybrid model. Students would attend 2 days a week in person and do some virtual learning or students could request to do full online learning.
9 . A lot of people have been saying they hope things start to change in education since this Pandemic, do you think anything will change from it?
I hope! I hope that education starts to take priority as well as social/emotional learning in schools.
10. Last but not least, where do you see yourself in ten years?
Oh the goals that I would like to accomplish over the next ten years...the list is long. The main one is I would like to earn my masters in clinical mental health counseling. I would still like my priority and research commitment to be working with children following trauma and social/emotional wellbeing.
Thanks Molly!
Happy Teaching :)