Amanda Strong

I became a 6-12 ELA teacher after teaching college for five years. After reading paper upon paper with grammar, spelling, and capitalization errors, I realized that there was a stronger demand for good K-12 teachers, so now I'm teaching 7th/8th ELA at an inner city school that's grossly affected by gun violence, domestic violence, poverty, food deserts, drugs, and more. There are students who can be reached and choose a different path than that of their peers. My theory is that I do not have any bad students, only bad situations and bad decisions. I spend a lot of time getting to know my students and connecting with them on a daily basis because I care about each one of them, regardless of their circumstances. When their hierarchy of needs isn't being met in the most fundamental of ways, I try to make up for those losses, especially providing them with someone who genuinely cares about their education and well-being. I became a 6-12 ELA teacher after teaching college for five years. After reading paper upon paper with grammar, spelling, and capitalization errors, I realized that there was a stronger... read more