Our next ASpotlight Interview features Kindergarten Teacher Rebecca Lopez! Read more to learn what sparked her passion for education and teaching Kindergarten, what drew her to the Allen-Stevenson community, and the important role that social-emotional learning plays in her classroom.
How did you discover your passion for teaching?
My elementary school teachers were amazing. I can still remember what I did in those classrooms, and it was fun – I was so engaged. I really felt like my teachers cared for me. The educational experiences they provided and the way they cared for each student inspired me to become a teacher. It’s funny - my parents saved the playbill from my second-grade play where they asked us all what we wanted to be when we grew up. Mine read, “When I grow up, I want to become a teacher.” This aspiration has been my dream since I was my students’ age! I’m actually still friends with my second-grade teacher. She has guided my career and been a real role model. I don’t think I could imagine doing something else with my life.
Then, as I got older, I continued to feel a love of children, from continually wanting to babysit and be around kids to playing school with my toys (of course, I was the teacher). All I have ever wanted to be in life is a teacher.
I went to Riverdale Country School through high school, then went to Boston University for college, and then Bank Street College of Education where I did a dual master’s in early childhood general education and special education.
After school, I did my student teaching at a public school on the Upper East Side, where I ultimately took on the lead Kindergarten role in a special needs classroom. From there, I moved on to a charter school where I taught Second, Third, and Fourth Grade. Then, I came to Allen-Stevenson, where I started by covering Jenny Griffith’s maternity leave in a First Grade classroom. I have been lucky enough to stay on this year on the Kindergarten Team.
This year is your first full year of teaching at A-S and we are so happy to have you in our community! What appealed to you about teaching at Allen-Stevenson?
The first time I walked into the A-S building, I felt the strong community here and wanted to be part of it. It felt like I was, in a sense, home and part of a family. From the actual families of our students to our faculty and staff, it’s an amazing place filled with warmth.
In taking this position, I was looking to be part of a community of teachers who are passionate about what they are doing and are able to provide hands-on learning experiences because of the environment in which they are working. When kids are engaged in their learning, it’s fun; it’s meaningful; it develops students with a life-long passion for learning.
During the pandemic, it has been even more important to have this support and security. I can reach out to my colleagues any time, and we are there for each other. The outpouring of love from the families and their respect for what we’re doing has been incredible. In times of crisis, it’s so important to have a sense of community and a support system to lean on.
What do you find most rewarding about working with kindergarteners who are so new to school and the A-S community?
Kindergarten has always been where my heart is. It’s a student’s first experience with school, and it’s incredible to be a part of it with them. I love being able to share and cultivate their love of learning from day one. It all starts in Kindergarten. These experiences set the tone for the rest of their academic career.
I love watching my students find joy in learning. It’s the most rewarding thing when you see that lightbulb go off when they understand a new concept. Kindergarten is really where we create life-long passionate learners by fostering a love of knowledge and making school a fun place where they look forward to being.
My students are also hilarious! The books that could be written on the things they say...
Are there any curriculum units that you are particularly excited to teach?
I love the phonics curriculum that we do. There are so many opportunities to tailor our phonics curriculum to what the boys are interested in, which piques their engagement and creates passionate learners. This curriculum is so fun, and it puts the boys in the driver’s seat of their own learning.
We just did a lesson called “ABC School” where the boys taught their stuffed animals about the alphabet, whether it was how to write a letter in uppercase and lowercase, words that begin with each letter of the alphabet, or the sounds the letters make. To see what they have retained and learned and then to see them apply it is so exciting! Watching them take leadership and ownership over their learning is very meaningful.
You have taught many different grades during your time as a teacher. How has that informed how you teach Kindergarten?
I’ve taught Kindergarten, First, Second, Third, and Fourth Grades. This variety of experiences has shown me how important Kindergarten is to set the foundation for what they learn throughout elementary school.
Teaching other grades has given me perspective on where students need to be later in their educational journey and has helped me tailor my teaching style to get them there.
One really important thing I have learned is that no formula works for every student. As an educator, I need to take the time to truly get to know my students and work within their learning style.
Do you have any fun traditions or personal passions you have brought into your classroom?
There are a few things. I’m very creative in my personal life. I love to bring that into the classroom through hands-on, engaging activities that let the boys express their creativity. It lets them have fun in a purposeful way.
Also, I have a great sense of humor and am goofy with my family and in my personal life. I bring that into the classroom so that the learning is fun at all times. I hear back from parents who say their boys just never stop laughing, and that’s great! They will always want to come back to school if the learning is fun.
Technology has been hugely important for the smooth continuation of school during the present COVID pandemic. What benefits do you think technology has for educators? In what ways do you utilize it in your classroom?
Technology has become a part of our everyday life in today’s society. The boys’ practice with it now is setting them up for success in their futures. It opens the doors for them to solve problems and puts them in the driver’s seat of their experience.
Technology has taken on new importance during the pandemic. Seesaw, for example, is so helpful. It creates a digital portfolio of their work where they can submit assignments and go back to review any feedback that I leave. They can look back and see their growth over the year, which is so special and motivating for them.
How does social-emotional learning (SEL) play a role in your classroom? Why is this important?
This year has been unlike any other. A lot of our boys started the year missing their preschool experience and felt isolated from their friends. They have so many feelings but don’t know how to express them. So, that’s where we started this year – what do feelings look like? What do they sound like? We did a lot of read alouds about how to conceptualize emotion, and the boys could relate to these books.
We started with a book called The Color Monster by Anna Llenas that gives emotions colors and puts a visual to how we feel. We had many discussions about how our boys can handle these emotions when they arise so they can feel in control of how they feel.
But social-emotional learning isn’t something that we put on the schedule and learn in a blocked time. It is tied in throughout the day into every subject. Kindergarten IS social-emotional learning…every single thing we do incorporates it. We address situations as they come up. So, if boys get in an argument, I pause the class to talk through it so we can all learn and talk about how we might do things differently the next time we get in a disagreement. Our schedule is not so rigid that we can’t take those important moments to practice our social-emotional learning skills.
I also think social-emotional learning has been more important this year than ever before. The boys are all physically removed from each other, even when they are in a classroom together. They want to play and build with Lego together, and just be close to their friends. This pandemic has been really hard for them, and it’s our job as their teachers to support them and give them a voice to express their feelings and emotions.
Also, some of the boys have a lot of emotions about their work product. There are anxieties surrounding their work being ‘good’, and they are really hard on themselves. It’s so important to teach the boys from day one to be forgiving and respect themselves. I want them to know that no one always knows the answer, and it’s okay not to know in the moment. I am here to help them find the answers - we can learn together.
