Personal Info

First Name

Anna

Last Name

Weiss

Organizational Affiliation

Mastery Charter School

Bio

I came into education through a slightly less traditional route.  In my senior year of college at the University of Illinois, I was recruited into Teach For America, and less than a year later found myself in charge of teaching American history to around 120 eighth graders at John B. Stetson Middle School in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia.  Those two years were a grueling experience, but one I am grateful to have had.  Though I left the School District to teach at Mastery Charter School, I still think of my time at Stetson every day.  It's what drives me to perform, deliver, and grow as an educator, and to continue to be an agent of change. 

Though I am from the Chicago region, I've come to be very attached to Philadelphia--no doubt because of all the hours I've spent educating its youth!--and think of it as a second home.  It's an acquired taste, but one of which I've grown particularly fond.

I write in order to capture those "slices of life" that occur every day in and around the classroom.  That might include anything from profound statements made by my students to particularly humorous incidents; from steps I'm taking to further my personal development as a teacher and leader to my own observations about the classroom as a metaphor for the greater society around us. 

I thrive on respectful feedback and love to get a good discussion going, so please feel free to leave comments or send me email.