Editor’s note: To read profiles of all 2015-2016 Blackboard Awards honorees, click HERE!
Nicole Rachel
Grade 7-8 Social Studies
Manhattan School For Children—P.S. 333
Tell us about some of the special joys and challenges you’ve experienced as a teacher.
My very first year of teaching, I had a sophomore student who sat in the front and said, “Ms. Rachel, you are going to hate me.” He was a student that had an “interesting” reputation. I took his challenge, and to this day, Morgan and I are in contact. I wrote his college recommendation letters, tutored him for the SATs, and have remained a friend and mentor now that he’s graduated from college. Morgan was the first student that I built a rapport with and he showed me the importance and impact that a teacher can have on a student’s life.
Another challenge that has also been a joy has been learning how to mediate student conflicts and create an environment of safety and respect in the classroom. Apparently, I have done a pretty decent job of this because I get emails daily from students that need to talk or ask a question about how to navigate friends, school, relationships, teachers…you name it! It’s sometimes overwhelming because I don’t always know the right answer or how to help, but it is one of the joys of my career to know that my students feel safe and comfortable with me enough to express their thoughts and feelings.
Please share a special project or achievement (or two) that you are particularly proud of from this year.
This year, the eighth graders made history when we went to Washington, D.C., as a school trip for the first time! This had been a dream of mine for over a year to bring to MSC, and this year, we finally made it happen! It was an amazing experience to bring savvy NYC students to our nation’s capital and have them experience the places and historical sites that we have talked about in class over the last year and a half. More importantly, it showed me what a supportive and committed community of teachers, administration, and parents we have at MSC because it took coordination among everyone to make a three-day, two-night trip like this happen!
This was my first year as the advisor for student government, and it was awesome! We hosted three dances, held bake sales, were classroom volunteers in K-8 classrooms, were school ambassadors for open houses and other events, were peer mediators, and ran the Upper House (grades 4-8) town hall assemblies, which are held monthly! This group of students really blew me away with their drive and dedication to our school. Working with them is easily one of my top three favorite things about this school year!
Over the course of your career, what do you consider one or two of your greatest accomplishments?
I think remaining positive has been a great accomplishment! In our societal landscape of test scores, politicians, and the court of public opinion, simply being a teacher that loves one’s career is an accomplishment. I’ve never given up on my students, their abilities, or their character, and that has given me the energy to stay positive and to keep reinventing myself as an educator, whether it is going to Teacher’s College for professional development or writing new curriculum, or being a teacher at recess for the first time this year. It’s very easy to become stagnant and do “what works”. Every year, I try to bring new ideas and materials to the classroom. In short, I would say that my greatest career accomplishments are staying positive and relevant!
What drives you? What keeps you motivated and committed to being a dedicated and hard-working educator?
The kids. It’s pretty simple for me, really. I want to teach them to think and to be independent and confident and articulate. And I do that through history. American history is so important, it’s our story, and seeing them learn our story, and make their own opinions and come to their own conclusions about it, sometimes ideas that I’ve never even explored or had, is refreshing and invigorating! Every year, my seventh graders have heated arguments about which rights in the Bill of Rights are still relevant today and which ones are not. It is amazing to see students taking such a strong stand about something that can be hard for them to relate to!
I was horribly, horribly bullied in middle school and high school. So, I’m also motivated to be a crusader of sorts to give an outlet to those students who feel bullied and vulnerable, and also to try to reach the bullies, too. I believe that children haven’t decided who they are going to be yet, and so if we can intervene when they are at their lowest, whether that’s being a victim or being the bully (because that is a real low, too!), and as adults we can show them that they have another option: to be confident, to be an upstander (not a bystander), and to recognize their own value, then another valuable life lesson has also been taught. I want my students to know that it’s okay to be who they are, and I’m here for them to talk, cry, yell, or just vent. And I usually bring snacks to the conversation.
Any special advice for parents on how they can best support their children academically at the grade level you teach? And more generally? And how they can have the most productive relationship with their children’s teacher and school?
This is a tough question! Middle school is a really tough place for students because they are experiences changes in every aspect of their lives. Be open to listening and ask questions rather than saying, “You should….” A middle school student has a lot to say, but will shut down the second that they think that they are being preached to. By asking questions, they will keep talking, and will usually ask for your opinion or advice after a little while. Another piece of advice is not to overextend them. They are so busy, and get so tired! Clear their schedules! It breaks my heart to hear them say that they didn’t get home until 9 or 10 p.m. because they had tutoring, then dance, then soccer, then piano, and then homework! Have an honest conversation with them about what is their top one or two choices of activity, and just stick with those. They need to focus on school, and just being a kid!
