![\"Alison](\"http:\/\/oaklandvoices.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/DSCN1673-224x300.jpg\")
February 22, 2013\nBy Debora Gordon<\/p>\n
February 22, 2013
\nBy Debora Gordon<\/p>\n
After early teaching stints in far flung locales from Ecuador and China to New York and Sunnyvale, 4th year middle school teacher Alison Ball, 29, came to Urban Promise Academy (UPA), where she is having a blast teaching seventh grade.
\nAside from computation and life science, Alison is excited about Crew, a UPA program focusing on the social and emotional learning skills that are part of OUSD\u2019s strategic plan.
\n\u201cWhat drives my work,\u201d Alison said, \u201cis that it\u2019s such a time of self discovery, with students getting to discover themselves as people, figuring out, \u2018what do I stand for as a person? How can I navigate the social world that I\u2019m in?\u2019\u201d
\nAllison helps provide opportunities for students to talk with one another about what they are studying. \u201cWhat I find is that in general students will have the conversation when they have the skills to have the conversation. If sometimes there\u2019s some goofing off, it\u2019s because they don\u2019t know how to have that conversation or they don\u2019t know how to explain their thinking.\u201d
\nShe uses a variety of strategies to help prepare students to talk about their thinking and how they arrive at conclusions.
\n\u201cThe math,\u201d she explained, \u201cis about the element of logic \u2013 students being able to see the logic and predictability, being able to solve problems, to ask what are my tools, beyond math, figure out possible outcomes. That element of mathematical thinking provides reasoning beyond math. Those kinds of things can be really empowering for students.\u201d
\nAlison finds that the greatest reward of teaching is getting to spend time with young people. \u201cMy job never gets old, it\u2019s never boring. There is always something that I\u2018m working on professionally, always new goals I\u2019m setting.\u201d
\nAlthough Alison did not originally set out to be a teacher, she says she tries to emulate her 3rd grade teacher Mr. Kramer. \u201cHe had a sense of wonder in the classroom. There were always weird, gooey, crawly things around the classroom \u2013 worms and brine shrimp, and I loved the \u2018ew, gross!\u2019 factor.\u201d She also values the high standard he had for his students.
\nAlison advises new teachers not to take on too much that first year, which can often backfire, she says. She also reminds them to \u201cbreathe. At that moment, when you have a decision to make in the classroom, about how to respond to a student, that can feel really overwhelming, watching yourself making a decision, I definitely can and do breathe, on many occasions.\u201d<\/p>\n
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