From Concerned Parent to Dedicated Educator

0:06 This podcast Spotlight for Success, is our way of highlighting the incredible success stories happening in education right here in our home state of Georgia. Today, we're thrilled to be joined by Alicia Gentle in Mutz County Schools, who has made a significant impact in the field of social studies education. We'll explore her journey, insights and positive changes she's creating for students and teachers. So let's get started. Alicia, tell us a little bit about yourself. Well, I'm a wife, I'm a mother of four amazing kids One in college, one's a senior, one's a junior and one is in eighth grade. So love teaching, love traveling, camping, volleyball, soccer you know all the mom stuff.

0:54 That's great, and what inspired you? To pursue a career in teaching. Well, initially, I'll be honest, I went into teaching because my oldest daughter was going into middle school and I was like middle school is scary, so I want to be there when she goes. So I just started subbing in the school just to be present and then I was like I really like this and I could see like the positive impact that teachers were making on students and I was like I want that to be me, and so from there I started. I became a paraprofessional Wonderful. And so I was a para for four years while I got my degree, and then after that I started teaching middle grades, and I've been.

1:38 I started in the same middle school that I'm still in now, loved it, the same middle school that I'm still in now. Gosh, that's wonderful, loved it Good, strong roots there. Yes, love it there. That's great. So now, what is the most rewarding part of your work in the school system? Seeing a child get it. It's the aha moments when they just they don't understand, and you can see them struggle through, and I think struggle is important. It's important because the struggle makes them who they are, it defines them, it, like you said, it plants roots for them, and so when they struggle through and then they get it, it's rewarding. They feel accomplished, and when they feel accomplished, I feel accomplished.

2:20 That is wonderful. Yeah, what kind of a school. So you're in a middle school, what's the name of your school? Henderson Middle School in Butts County, Henderson Middle School. Wonderful, and so what do you love now that you're here at the Georgia Council of Social Studies? What do you love about the conference? What have you picked up? Because technology is huge today. Okay. The AI stuff and the students. They know it, they're learning it, we have to learn it and we have to stay one step ahead of them. We have to use it and integrate. We have to be to change to fit today, students today are not like back when we were in school.

3:03 So I think it's important and a lot of the sessions have given teachers the tools to be able to do that and to be able to use these things that the students are into for rigor, for engagement and to help them, you know, to advance in the classroom and there's different ways and different content that I've seen in different. It's not just social studies. They've used science, they used ELA and so it's really good across the board being able to use those tools. Wonderful. Do you have any specific takeaways? Like I'm going to bring this back to my classroom when I come back.

3:44 I'm definitely going to use the chat, gpt and using the prompts, putting the prompts in and then not just the prompt. You can go deeper. You could put the prompt in and then you can say, okay, change this, take this out. I want you to do the prompt, but now add this in, and so that was a really, really good one. And then DFIT we learned about you know DFIT, and so I got some really good stuff to take back. I can't wait to share with my colleagues and let them know some of this stuff. That is wonderful. It was great. So now, Alicia, is there anything else you'd like to share with the community, the education community, about things that you're doing in your work?

4:29 So right now, our biggest thing and our principal is really great about it is relationship. You have to really build relationships with your students and over the past five years we have been intentional about building relationships with our kids because when they trust you, then they'll learn from you, and so I would really really strongly suggest build those relationships with your kids. Let them know that you care, that you're not just there to teach them a content or a subject that you care, and when they know that they're going to trust you and they're going to learn. That's amazing, alicia.

5:10 Thank you. this podcast was brought to you by ABC spotlight for success, thank you so much. Thank you for having me. I appreciate it. Thank you.