Hello all!
My name is Melissa Asztalos, and I teach 7th Grade Science at a middle school in Upstate NY. I knew I wanted to be a teacher as long as I can remember. My favorite game to play was "school" with my younger brothers, and I loved going to school every day. It was in 10th grade that I had a Biology Teacher, Mr. Sammon, who gave me a love for science. I graduated with a degree in elementary education, and thought I was going to be a Kindergarten teacher. As luck would have it, I got a long-term substitute teaching position in 7th grade Science and have never looked back. Middle school is my jam, and where I want to spend the rest of my teaching career.
As I reflected upon 2017, and what I wanted to achieve in 2018, I knew I had to take the leap and try something new. I have been teaching for 12 years now, and have taken so many PD courses though my district, the Teacher Center and various other places. I knew I needed to start taking my own path for PD this year. I did that by first finally jumping with both feet into Twitter. I had dabbled a few years ago, but I didn't really know the power it could have in my teaching. As I started connecting with other educators on Twitter I have already learned so many new things, and validated many of the things that I already do in my classroom. I also realized that we had a lot of common goals and interests. It got me thinking about my own voice, and all I have learned in my years as a middle school science teacher. I realized that I do have things to share to add value to the community.
So this led me to my #OneWord for 2018........EXPAND!
I am going to work this year to expand myself, both personally and professionally. When I looked up the definition of the word expand, I knew it would be the perfect fit for me this year.
According to Merriam-Webster.com:
I work very hard to improve my own teaching skills and am always seeking out new sources to learn from both in print and online. Now I want to open up and share my experiences and musings with others in education by starting this blog. I will be posting things from my own experiences as a teacher and learner. My personal focuses of learning this year are on Growth Mindset and Brain Based Learning. I hope that to those of you reading this will find value in what I have to say and share. I also would love to have you join me on Twitter (@MrsAsztalos) and connect with me and share your own learnings.
Happy New Year and best wishes for a joyous and fulfilling second half of the school year.
Melissa