“Rest your voice on weekends!” Lisa dawn Glidewell, TIP ‘20 MEd ‘23 says when asked what she would say to new teachers, and while we both laugh at the seemingly small piece of advice, it is a knowing laugh, a recognition that we have both felt the consequence of not following this particular piece of advice.
She quickly adds that she would tell new teachers that while the first year is incredibly hard, it doesn’t mean that teaching is that hard. It means that the first year is that hard and the first year is that hard for everyone. “I had experiences with the education system and kids; I had a phenomenal co teacher and was working at an amazing school.” Even still, Lisa dawn remembers how tired she felt that first year in a new school, with new kids, and a new curriculum. But the second year got easier, and by her third year she felt like she knew what she was doing. “Hang in there and get support, lean on people wherever you can, make whatever you can easier for yourself, and be sure to take care of your body and spirit.”
TEACHING
Lisa dawn’s journey to becoming a first grade teacher began for her in first grade, and it started knowing that was the grade she wanted to teach. A stay at home mom caring for her kids and moving with her husband several times, it took Lisa 13 years to get her undergraduate degree. When her own kids started school, she began working as a paraeducator. Eventually, with the support of her family, she made the leap to finally get her teaching license.
Lisa dawn says that it was a UVEI cohort that got her through her first year teaching. It was the year schools were coming back from having shut down for COVID, and she was participating in the Masters program. “I had an amazing cohort with the masters group, it got me through that year. Everyone at my school was having a hard year. When I got into the breakout with the other MEd candidates and heard what everyone else was going through, I knew I could tell my Professional Learning Community (PLC) at Grantham Village School that it wasn’t just us.”
The connections and collaboration she felt during her time at UVEI is something she continues to bring to her teaching. At UVEI, she came together with people from different schools, teaching different grade levels. Even though she was talking with others who were in middle or high school, they recognized they were all coming with similar problems. “It really taught me about the importance of bringing things to my colleagues. Even if they were 4th grade, the ideas they have, experiences they have are going to be similar. Everyone leans on each other, and we are all better when we put all our brains in the box together.”
“The skill I was building was how to look at the challenge and do the part I knew.”
Another thing she continues to reflect on is the willingness to work on what is in front of you without the fear of feeling you need to be perfect. “One of the challenges at UVEI that I found and have talked to others who went through TIP after me, is that you don’t always know where you are headed; you don’t know the full picture or what exactly the whole lego structure is going to look like. The skill I was building was how to look at the challenge and do the part I knew. I had to take on the part in front of me, and be willing to turn in things that weren’t perfect but were what they needed to be. It was all part of a growing process.”
As Lisa dawn has continued her teaching career, she has begun to reflect on her role with others, especially new educators and those who are in the position she was several years ago. “One of the things that I find giving me a lot of joy, as I turn 45 next month, is a shift in how I view myself. As I talk to parents with young children, young married people, others who are getting to this age, I’m realizing that I am that older woman that I used to be so grateful for, the one who was not so far from where I was, but who had already gone through it. I had a very nontraditional path: I stayed home, worked part time as a children’s librarian and as a para. I was working two jobs, hostess, para, etc. Making the transition, doing all the things to get there was hard. I can be the support for others going through it”
MENTORING
When Lisa dawn finally took the leap to becoming a teacher and entered UVEI’s TIP program, her experience as an intern was foundational. She developed a close relationship with one of her mentors, Kathy Scott at Sunapee Central School, that has continued to this day.
This year, she realized that she finally felt experienced enough as a classroom teacher to bring that to someone else, and to create a safe space for someone to learn. She took on the role of being a mentor, and in this role she was conscious of wanting to replicate her experience for her mentee. Having a UVEI intern only made sense. “I know UVEI and I knew I could help her trust the process. I could tell her, I trust the process, this is what I know is coming. I could create a safe space for her to develop her own teaching style.”
“I had a really good experience as a mentor, I don’t even know if it was a fair experience because Sara Robinson (TIP ‘25) is exceptional. We had a big schedule change and a new curriculum this year, I didn’t know what was coming, and on top of that we had complications with our adoptions this fall.” Lisa says Sara took things off her plate more than added to them.
“Mrs. Glidewell’s empathy and compassion for her students was incredibly evident in every single thing she did. Her care was contagious, and I found myself becoming more and more mindful of my student’s needs with every day I was in her classroom. I envy the students that get to have her as their classroom teacher, but I’m so grateful I had her as my first mentor to teach me about true and genuine love found in effective teaching,” Sara shared.
“Am I qualified to do this? Yes I am!”
When it comes down to it, Lisa dawn says that she did the things that her mentor, Kathy, did for her. She sees Kathy as the gold standard and worked to emulate that mentorship style. One thing Kathy did for Lisa dawn was push her. “She would say, just do it, you can do it. Even if it was not in my nature, by the time I finished in her classroom, I felt so much more confident because I had gotten to do so much. I had to be pushed because I didn’t feel ready, and that push was fantastic.” Lisa dawn worked to do the same thing with Sara.
Although she has stayed in the same grade, she has gone from teaching through COVID, having everyone wear masks, teaching to the whole grade using a big screen in the cafeteria, having no interaction with other classrooms, changes in schedules, changes in curriculum, and more. After five years, she is still flexing her metacognitive muscle.
Still, she says, it was something different having someone else watching her, and it made her want to ensure her lessons were as exemplary as possible, that her transitions were what they should be. “Having an intern really elevated my practice. I wanted her to see what teachers should be doing. As teachers, we don’t always live up to our best, but when we’re being watched, there’s a sense of accountability there.”
“There’s a certain weight to knowing it is my job to give her the safest space and the most opportunities, to be the best example for her in this one small semester. I wanted to give her everything I could in one semester. On the flip side, it made me a better teacher, especially since she was my first intern. I would ask myself, Am I qualified to do this? Yes I am!”
Kathy, who is still in touch with Lisa dawn, absolutely agrees. “I have been in awe of all that Lisa dawn has accomplished since [being an intern]. She has proven that she can do hard things [as a teacher and mentor] along with continuing to be present as a mom, wife, daughter, friend and colleague. I am grateful for the professional conversations we were able to have from mentor to student and then from colleague to colleague. I am also extremely grateful that UVEI brought Lisa dawn into my life, first as a student, then as a colleague, and then as a friend. I could not be more proud of all that she has accomplished in her career.
LOOKING AHEAD
Schools and teaching have changed in the years since Lisa dawn began as a paraeducator and then teacher. “Teachers and schools have always been a huge part of supports for families. Since COVID, I have seen how that has changed and genuinely feel it’s more important now than ever. Parents are showing up to conferences asking what to do. They are so stressed out, they really need to know that their kiddo is in a safe, loving, thoughtful, and mindful space for 30 hours a week.”
And while this puts its own stress on teachers, Lisa dawn says it is also the best part: “I never wonder if my job makes a difference; I never think, I don’t want to do my job anymore. Not everyone has that. Every single day I’m making a difference. The families know I have their kids. I’m checking for lunch, giving hugs. We are part of the family support system. When I’m tired and things are hard, I remember all of that and know this job is exactly what I’m supposed to be doing.”
“This job is exactly what I’m supposed to be doing.”
While looking ahead, Lisa dawn stays grounded in the needs of her school community. Schools and teaching have changed in the years since she began as a paraeducator and then teacher. “Teachers and schools have always been a huge part of supports for families. Since COVID, I have seen how that has changed and genuinely feel it’s more important now than ever. Parents are showing up to conferences asking what to do. They are so stressed out, they really need to know that their kiddo is in a safe, loving, thoughtful, and mindful space for 30 hours a week.”
And while this puts its own stress on teachers, Lisa dawn says it is also the best part: “I never wonder if my job makes a difference; I never think, I don’t want to do my job anymore. Not everyone has that. Every single day I’m making a difference. The families know I have their kids. I’m checking for lunch, giving hugs. We are part of the family support system. When I’m tired and things are hard, I remember all of that and know this job is exactly what I’m supposed to be doing.”
