50 things you can’t see by looking at my instagram

Top: Old Navy

Highlight reels are the things people want you to see. Sometimes they are good. Sometimes they are bad. Here are 50 things you can’t see or know about me, simply by looking at the pictures or read the words, I post on my instagram.

1. I share a classroom with 3 other adults
2. My sink is usually dirty
3. My drawers have absolutely no organization system
4. My teammate is my best guy friend (after my husband)
5. I have cabinets full of special-education curriculum I don’t use.
6. I have a “WOOHOO” wall where I post all the “WOOHOO” moments my students or teachers tell me about.
7. 5/7 of my closest work friends have left over the last to years.
8. 1 colleague at my previous school has come to join to me 🙂
9. I teach 8 groups a day
10. which means I plan for 8 groups a day
11. I say “ohhhh HEYYYYY” every time one of my students walk in
12. When something is upsetting me, the best remedy is going to talk to my school psychologist (he’s the best problem solver!)
13. I work from 7:00-4:30 on teaching related things every.single.day
14. and I never complain about working the long hours
15. I’m on our racial equity and inclusion team (leadership team)
16. and our tier 3 tertiary team
17. and a district SEL lead
18. and on the PD planning committee
19. Every day I eat lunch with students who are not in special education
20. I take notes during every meeting to help my brain stay focused
21. I’m an INFJ (Meyer’s Briggs) (and so is my teammate!)
22. and I took the test 3 weeks ago and have learned so much about myself already
23. I talk to my former co-teacher every single day
24. I work at a dual-language school
25. I speak up in meetings, even when I feel scared
26. I count backwards from 20 in my head when I feel myself getting emotional or want to cry
27. but I rarely ever show my undesirable feelings and emotions at work (unless its with a couple of my close people)
28. When I get fired up, it’s usually only in my classroom when I’m talking to my teammate
29. and I’ve never been fired up mad about a student… only if it’s to support a student
30. I tell my kids every day is a new day, every day
31. and practice that belief with fidelity
32. I leave my shoes inside when we go outside to play tag
33. I go down the slide when the kids ask me too… no matter what I’m wearing
34. I make mistakes on purpose (and sometimes not on purpose) so they know it’s okay to not know every thing
35. My passion is working with and learning from students who experience extreme behavior challenges
36. which means there are some days my classroom is filled with lots and lots of emotion
37. but I meet those feelings with compassion and kindness.
38. If I am walking by a classroom that needs support, I always try to help
39. and instead of working with the student, I try to relieve the teacher so they can and I take the class.
40. when kids enter my room, they work hard
41. because I have high expectations paired with culturally responsive content for each of my groups
42. I analyze data and change my instruction
43. I talk about race
44. I advocate for students with and without disabilities
45. I can never find my chapstick
46. I write on my whiteboard in bright colors
47. I let students use smelly markers when they have finished their work
48. I have courageous conversations with my colleagues
49. I challenge the existing systems
50. and the beliefs of others for an equitable education for my kids.

There is so much more to each and every one of us… so much more than ANY picture can ever capture or represent. Those 50 things you can’t see by looking at my instagram… those are 50 things that go on my highlight reel, every. single. day… sometimes you just can’t actually see them.

WITH KINDNESS | Ashley