Although I wasn’t able to make it to George Jay Elementary School because of work, I had a really cool realization after seeing students blog posts on the trip that I already follow Rebecca on Instagram! It is a funny world we live in these days. Here I was feeling very disconnected from the field trip and that I had missed out on an opportunity I wasn’t familiar with and then poof! I made a connection to my own social media account and an educational influencer who always inspires me.

Once I had found @inquiryteacher on Instagram, it really changed the way I thought of education, especially in younger grades. Her approach to play is so interesting and I really liked the materials she uses. I found myself looking into similar crafts to make for my future classrooms on platforms like Pinterest. She inspires a lot of the projects I would like to do one day! She likes to give students autonomy and variety so that they can explore things in a different way!

She also wrote a book, which I have ordered, called “Inquiry Mindset” which encompasses her educational approaches and how students can benefit from them. I really look forward to reading this book and growing more familiar with her amazing ways! As always, it is wonderful to reflect on all of the incredible opportunities we are provided through this program (whether we can make it or not), and I feel very fortunate to be apart of this community! As a future teacher candidate, I have learned that even if you can’t be present all the time, to make the most of resources offered around you. If I had not known about Rebecca prior, I would have really missed out even more in not going to visit her classroom!