How do you Measure your Impact on Kids?

Posted on 06/01/2011 by katep

Students from Wilson Middle School

Ask anyone, and they’ll tell you I’m a champion list-maker. Making lists is the way I plan my day, the way I track progress, and, sad as it is to admit, the small ways that I remind myself that I have, in fact, accomplished something. Now, a week after the last day of program, three weeks after our best WOW! to date, six months after I took the Campus Director’s position and four years after Citizen Schools launched here at Wilson, we are packing up our office and getting ready to close the doors for good. (That last sentence was another list…I just can’t help myself.) But there are some things a list can’t contain, like how it feels to say goodbye to a student you’ve watched grow and mature over two years or how hard it is to trust that you’ve made an impact when it feels like there’s so much more to do. A list can’t measure whether your students will remember to make eye contact and shake hands firmly when they go on job interviews, and it can’t tell you if they will ever realize the full extent of how much we care. I guess, despite my best efforts, there are just some things about this job that can’t be quantified.

About katep

Kate Preteska is a second year Teaching Fellow at Wilson Middle School in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Kate grew up in Jemez Springs, New Mexico (population 387) with no cell phone reception and an endless amount of national forest for hiking, climbing, and hiding out from the fast pace of the 21st century. Kate earned her BA in Sociology and Music from the University of Puget Sound where she served as an academic advisor and spent the hardest and happiest 16 weeks of her life in Ghana. Kate is a violinist, avid music consumer and the kind of chef who believes that any cooking blunder can be remedied with a healthy dose of New Mexican green chile.
This entry was posted in Culture of Achievement, Ed Reform My Style, Learning to Lead and tagged , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

3 Responses to How do you Measure your Impact on Kids?

  1. Daniel J Sanidad says:
    06/01/2011 at 8:24 AM

    I recently finished my first apprenticeship program with Citizen Schools. It was a tremendous experience and something I will continue to appreciate in the future. That being said, I went into this program with the intention I would be learning just as much as I would be teaching to the kids. AND, that was something I was vocal about to them. I also told them, and the parents on WOW day, that these skills may not make sense today, tomorrow, or next year, moreover, this experience is the “Ah Hah moment” they will express years from now from the seed we (me and Citizen Schools) planted years prior is ready to harvest and flourish within.

    My two and a half cents,

    Daniel J Sanidad

    • Kate Preteska says:
      06/02/2011 at 11:49 AM

      Thanks so much for your response! It’s great to hear the perspective of a CT.

  2. Andrew Miller says:
    06/01/2011 at 9:04 AM

    You could possibly start to use individual ePortfolios for your students. This would give them something they could look back on to help them retain knowledge and showcase what they have learned throughout the year.

    Just some food for thought!

    Andrew
    ~Software Developer / ePortfolio Designer @www.foliotek.com