Jennifer Wilson

JENNIFER WILSON, 2006 Disney Elementary School Teacher of the Year

Jennifer Wilson teaches 3^rd Grade at Grant Ranch School in Littleton, Colorado

• The Denver Public Schools Skillful Teacher Award
• 2004 The Denver Public Schools Gold Star Teacher Award
• 2004 nominated for Colorado Teacher of the Year
• 2006 Disney Elementary School Teacher of the Year
• 2008 Kappa Delta Pi Teacher of Honor

Every teacher has gotten frustrated at some point and said, “I just want to start my own school.” What would your school be like?

Jennifer: I would do my best to keep my school small and intimate. In large schools there is often a lack of communication, a lack of understanding and even a lack of accountability. In large schools things can get mis-communicated very easily.  You hear, “the district says we have to do …..” So we start doing what we think the district said we needed to do, but the reality is that no one is supporting us or following up on the initiative because no one has time to. The initiative gets implemented half-heartedly and then falls by the wayside and teachers end up doing their own thing. I would keep my school very small and focus the curriculum on critical thinking and problem solving. I would also incorporate more looping scenarios in my school where relationships are formed for longer periods of time. My school would be small, team-based with rich relationships between teachers and students.

If you were in a college class looking at future teachers, what would be your advice to them?

Jennifer: Never stop learning! If you think you have all the answers it’s time to get out of the profession. In order to know how to keep learning you have to be a good observer, listener, and reflector. You have to take time to stop and think about what’s going on in your classroom as well as your own teaching. There is so much coming at a teacher that it’s easy not to take time to stop and think.

Is there anything else you want to say to future teachers or new teachers?

Jennifer: If you are not sure about being a teacher, it’s probably not for you. I think we have moved passed the idea if you can’t do anything else you should teach. If you start observing in those classrooms and you are not feeling, “This is awesome” or “This is my passion,” “This excites me,” “This energizes me.” If you are not feeling those emotions pretty strongly then you do not need to be in the teaching profession. It’s so intense and so exhausting that you will not survive if you don’t have that passion.