David Suarez
This is my twelfth year in the classroom as a math or science teacher. I've spent most of these years teaching 7th and 8th grade with a brief stint in 9th grade. So far, I've split my time evenly between low and high socioeconomic school communities.
Professionally, I enjoy the constant learning that accompanies being a classroom teacher. Teaching is the work of a career, full of endless learning opportunities. Outside of work, I enjoy giving the left side of my brain a break as much as possible!
For me, the biggest teaching challenge involves supporting the growth of every learner, especially when there's a wide range of starting points. For the last eight years, I've seen teachers in various grade levels and school types apply a tiered approach to address learner diversity. Done well (no small feat), the impact on student motivation and achievement is significant. Desire for challenge increases and achievement gains follow.
Making diversity work is a big aspect of what makes me interested in differentiated instruction. Diverse classrooms offer great potential for demonstrating what’s possible in the communities where we live and work. As students realize that one child’s growth doesn't need to come at the expense of another, they form mindsets open to greater possibility for themselves and each other. The whole community benefits.
Through effective differentiated instruction, I believe we don't need to settle for solutions leading to educational winners and losers nearly as often as we do. The better we differentiate, the more we expand and reinforce this realization in ourselves and our students. The challenge is great (sometimes exceedingly so), but so are the possibilities.
