Kelly Pace is entering her eighteenth year of teaching. She currently teaches IB English and Theory of Knowledge at Atlee High School in Virginia where she earned the distinction of Hanover County Teacher of the Year this past year. She is currently pursuing National Board certification in AYA English/Language Arts.
Knowledge of Students
June 16, 2017
Life is all about connections. Early in my teaching career, I prided myself in connecting with my students. I thought I could relate to them easily, and that I truly understood who they were. Our proximity of age did not produce the disconnect that many veteran teachers experienced. Yet, as I think back to two separate situations among many, I realize in hindsight that I didn’t know my students at all. The first situation occurred in my second year of teaching. I was trying to help my students appreciate poetry by having them write their own original poetry. On the…
Read MoreOpening My Door as a Candidate for National Board Certification
August 10, 2016
When I first started teaching, a veteran teacher told me that one of the best things about teaching is that as a teacher I could close my door and become my own boss, taking control of the room. I didn’t have to answer to anyone. For the longest time I kept my door closed. I was in charge of those teenagers sitting in front of me. I was in command (or at least I tried to be). It has not been until recently that I started opening my door and keeping it open. Teaching is not a closed-door profession, you see.…
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