Darcel Pledge

Other Duties; Not Assigned Darcel Pledge

I traded my cubicle for a classroom and it changed my life! This book is a guide for new or veteran teachers or any education related staff personnel looking to tackle teaching from a different angle or perspective. As an educator you often hear the phrase "and other duties as assigned" as it relates to what your responsibilities will be for the new education related role you have just committed to. Not too many people speak on all of the duties an educator should do for the greater good of their students that are not often assigned. These other duties are usually opposite of the technical requirements all teachers and educational staff are asked and expected to adhere to each year. These unassigned duties are usually focused on during planning and often created outside of the classroom as a means to improve not only student learning, but the learning environment as well. The teachers who take the time to do these unassigned tasks tend to see greater success with building relationships with students and creating a learning environment conducive to learning. Entering the teaching world as a second career African American woman now Teacher Coach; I am sharing my own personal experiences. This book provides specific stories and advice based on how I navigated teaching in the classroom as someone coming fresh out of the corporate America world. The gems I discovered were things my teacher prep program did not fully prepare me for and things I needed to refine as the experiences and situations presented themselves in my classroom. My goal is to share my experiences not from the lens of being an expert, but to provide real context on what it means to join this profession and focus on the key elements that will help students succeed. Building a relationship with students, having clear communication plans in place, and holding all of my students to high expectations were things I learned over that years that aided in my students showing growth and being motivated to learn. By doing all of these unassigned duties, I was able to create a partnership with my students that involved displaying respect, having a growth mindset, and putting positive decision making at the center of everything we did all year. These confessions, tips, and tricks are things I wish I had known going into my first year of teaching. As an educator you can never have too many tools in your toolkit. This text is intended to provide educators with even more ideas, thoughts, and activities that you can use to shape the way you navigate your next year of teaching.