Category: Mission

I am now in the final weeks of my career as a public school teacher…🍎

wpid-c85dac670af71f8c58eff72fb48a475e.jpg

Reflecting on my thirty-eight years; I have taught so many children from grades ranging from kindergarten to fifth grade; dating back from 1972, up to the present.. I even had a wonderful opportunity teaching a college seminar for beginning teachers at the University of Florida, while on a sabbatical working on an advanced course work in counseling education…

I feel so blessed…touching the lives of so many children….

I did have to retire briefly for five years due to my health…However, I still was able to advocate for children in the court system during that time as a Guardian ad Litem…

Teaching, being an advocate for children has been my lifetime passion…

I have such mixed feelings about my retirement…

It is my strong belief that I am leaving at a time our bright intelligent children, especially those from poverty, who solely rely on our public education system are not being adequately represented…Our priorities for children are hindered by an emphasis on testing and collection of data…Our schools that teach children from challenging homes have fewer resources making teachers such as myself overwhelmed and devalued by being micromanaged…And making all this even more difficult;
fewer strong, young, professional teachers will no longer commit to such a rewarding career...

For this I have such regret…

As for myself…I will always feel the need to advocate for our children, and their right to a strong free public education…
And know that I really did make a difference!

wpid-66be3f3df00d82f0f29a26a5113ec34f.jpg

Posted from WordPress for Android

“Letting Go”…

Quote• Posted on by Janis Sexton
Posted in Mission, Reflections

“New Direction”…

Posted on by Janis Sexton

Google Email:

New Direction

image

From: Janis S Sexton
To: Christopher Lake… teacher representative, Karen L. McCann… President of Alachua County Education Association

Details:

Dear ACEA:
I have appreciated being a teacher in Alachua County since 1972…On a personal level, for me, our district gave me that wonderful opportunity…
I am retiring this year and for these last 10 years, I  have been quite concerned with the direction our public education of children from poverty have experienced…

It is my belief and experience, these precious children have been so neglected…We have crowded classrooms with fewer resources…Yet demands are extremely unrealistic..
I feel our school district does not address the real issues…We are now going to close schools, shuffling our children, taking  more resources away…And I question how will that help these children?…
Young, strong teachers are so micromanaged…Will they make teaching a lifetime career?…And will those in charge want to acknowledge their dedication…with such unrelenting demands?…

Sadly I have kept quiet…however,once I do retire, I want to actively get involved…I can and do share my concerns on social media…
Thank you for representing us,
Janis Sexton🍎

From: Karen L McCann…President ACEA..                                                        To: Janis S. Sexton

Details:

Thank you for your words of wisdom. I am happy to hear that as a retiree you want to make your voice louder and will now have more time to become more active. I will see you at the ACEA retirement dinner in May, at least I hope.
You can join our union retiree group TRACE and start coming here for events .

Thank you for your love and caring of our most precious lives, our children.

Posted from WordPress for Android

Posted in Mission

Florida Educators…

Posted on by Janis Sexton

image
image

Our future for Children and Public Education…Our leaders must advocate funding for teaching all children…We must not be driven by data and over testing…

Florida Educators Vote Your Job is on Facebook. To connect with Florida Educators Vote Your Job, join Facebook today…

Posted in Mission, Reflections

First Week…Back to School…

Posted on by Janis Sexton

image
I have always enjoyed the Friday before the beginning of the school year to meet my new students and their parents…I rely on just that brief meeting to begin making an assessment, when parent and child come in to meet me…
One important piece of pertinent information gained from this meeting is that I can begin to assess those children that may be outgoing or those that may be quite reserved….

The first week of school is the crucial time when I focus on establishing… “Our Relationship”, one that lets my children know I will love them unconditionally; providing a classroom for structure to inspire learning, and moreover, feel safe to accept and appreciate our differences…No matter what is presented…The foundation for a successful year ahead…

Posted in Mission

Ready or Not…

Posted on by Janis Sexton

My Classroom is ready for learning….Hopefully when my new first graders arrive Monday, August 18th…Our class will provide them a place to feel safe and learn to appreciate their love of learning…

This will be my final year…I will be retiring…

Back in 1972 when I first began, there was such hope and idealism…We just survived civil unrest…We just  integrated our schools; hopefully providing all our children a strong education with such wonderful programs such as: Head Start and Parenting Programs …We teachers were ready to teach and inspire all our children!

And now, sadly as I embark on retirement, I so very feel we have lost what is truly important..Inspiring and teaching all our children…
However, I am still hopeful that we will not let this continue, allowing powerful businesses taking control of our public schools…

We will find our way back to what is essentially  Important…
Teaching all of our children! wpid-20140806_141403.jpgwpid-20140806_141112.jpg
image

Continue reading “Ready or Not…” →

Summer… Time for reflection…

This 2013-2014 school year is over…With each year, the summer gives me that chance to reflect…

My first thought, this year especially, is acknowledging how exhausted I am; All the extra demands of testing and keeping up the pace of a more challenging curriculum…While striving to keep the children motivated and engaged…

I do also worry how my children spend their summer’s free time…

Throughout the school year I spent my teaching time encouraging them the “love of reading”; encouraging parents to take their child to the public library…And now with this extra time, I so do hope my parents “if” they have the time in their challenging lives… to take their child to the public library… to become the owner of their personal library card, that will open up their “World” to all the joys of the Public Library; SummerPrograms..Movies…Reading Books…And free Computer time!

I will most definitely worry about my children; and how regularly they will eat…So many of them come from such chaos, and our classroom providing them that safety net.. At school they would have their breakfast, lunch, and many snacks that I would routinely provide…

Most of all, I too will be able to come back to school in August ready and recharged to be the best I can be… even with all its demands and rigors…Our children deserve no less…

Summer…A Time…to Reflect…

Quote• Posted on by Janis Sexton

My Mission…

I have always believed giving all our children the opportunity for a strong, public school education; 

Educating children gives them a "POWER" from within...that which would provide them the ability to  grow and transform ...
Continue reading “My Mission…” →