Eryn Sherman (she/her) 

Fourth Grade Teacher • The International School of Helsinki • Finland

How did you get into teaching?

I was a confused 19-year-old who had decided not to return to my college in Florida. Instead, I moved to Ohio and started babysitting over the summer to earn some extra money. I worked with three children under the age of 4; the smallest child was about 15 months. Each morning, I would watch how this young one tackled the stairs, at first slowly scooting on his bottom. The next moment, he was pulling his leg toward the stairs. I watched these humans change from one day to the next, asking myself, ‘How can they learn so much in such a short time? Why are they doing the things they are doing?’ That was when I realized I wanted to commit to understanding children's inner-workings and development. 

Who was the teacher who made the most positive impact on your life?

Learning was never easy for me. I spent twice as much time understanding concepts than most people. I found myself rereading, practicing, and reteaching myself over and over. I wanted to be a great learner but could not figure it out. Learning anything new was always hard for me, no matter what subject or topic. I was so hard on myself because I wanted to be ‘good at learning,’ but I made little progress no matter how hard I tried. I almost failed third grade because I did not meet many parts of the standardized assessment. My third-grade teacher, Melissa Drury, worked with me throughout the summer to prepare me for 4th grade. I will never forget the way she made me feel when I failed. She always believed in me, even when I stopped believing in myself.  

What is a professional inquiry you are currently pursuing?

What does inquiry maths look like, and how can I facilitate a growth mindset approach when learning math?

My own learning experiences growing up made me a stronger teacher. I feel an extra layer of empathy and understanding of children for whom learning is so difficult. I especially understand the frustration mathematics can have on a child.  So, I recently registered for Jo Boaler’s How to Learn Math for Teachers online workshop. I hope that this course will help me support learners to say, ‘Everyone is a math person.’

What is a personal inquiry you are currently pursuing?

How can I turn off my ‘teacher brain’ during the week?

Teaching is stressful. I find it difficult, probably like most teachers, turning my ‘school brain’ off when I leave school. Work/life balance is incredibly important in Finland, so instead of resisting it, I leaned in. This semester I started taking beginner art classes. For the three hours I’m in my art class, I just play. My hands get messy. I use my imagination. I touch and explore different materials. I concentrate, embrace mistakes, and learn. It forces me to use a part of my brain I usually don’t use.  I also have to practice being okay with not being good. Learning something new is hard, and I am learning that again. 

We work with oil pastels, hard pastels and watercolor so far. Watercolor has been my favorite, and when I told my students I was learning watercolor, they knew more than me! They are modeling how to do ‘wet on wet’ techniques and how to be patient with myself and with watercolors. They showed me that since watercolors can take time to dry, I can do other things while waiting. 

When I am not learning from my weekly class (or from my students), I turn to Youtube. I follow Makoccino because she makes me feel like I can do it too. She also shows me easy ways to manipulate my watercolors and common errors (that I frequently make), so that I can grow to enjoy the process more. After a month of trying, I’m just now starting to enjoy it! 

What three best ideas you have to improve the teaching profession?

1) Variability should be the norm, not the exception

Instead of investing the energy in encouraging learners to fit inside the mold - change the mold! Individualizing learners' strengths guide their success. CAST.org's Universal Design of Learning invites teachers to consider Engagement, Representation, Action, and Expression. My classroom blossomed after discovering that learners should have more opportunities to engage with work and represent their understanding in new ways. Students could access learning because they now had a buffet of options that still met the learning outcomes. Behavior and relationships improved because the options allowed learners to feel valued and trusted while still meeting the expectations I set.

2) What’s your favorite subject? Recess!

Never underestimate the power of observation during recess. Play captures many elements of learning that teachers often overlook. Take time to observe students at recess. You would be surprised at what you might see.

3) Build bonds through translanguaging

The Little Mermaid viral videos are a perfect example of how representation matters. Children want to feel valued and part of a community. Diversity efforts tend to only focus on “the five F’s” (flags, fashion, famous people, food, and festivals) It’s time to move beyond them. In pursuing equity and promoting a sense of belonging, I encourage translanguaging. Things from classroom labels, daily schedules, morning messages, and essential classroom agreements are an excellent opportunity to embed your children’s mother tongue to show that you value your learners. [Editor’s note: for older students, please also check out and share the Rep podcast by journalist Noor Tagouri!]

Bonus 4) Go big at least once a year: give your learners something they’ll never forget

If you have this bold idea, a big idea, that is so crazy it just might work, try it!

My third-grade students in Malaysia will never forget the day I took away their water bottles for the day and carried around buckets of water. Students inquired into the Central Idea ‘water is essential to humans and the environment.’ How can students learn about how essential something is when it has never been essential to them? Part of good learning is feeling and experiencing, so with families’ and the school’s permission, students’ water bottles were taken away for the day. There were designated buckets for drinking water and handwashing. The art teacher was even on board. She had a messy paint activity that day, and the students had to walk to the next building to clean their brushes. 

Some students cried. Others were mad. But, I’ll never forget the moment at the end of the day when we returned their water bottles. One of my students took the water bottle and poured it on his head, so thankful to have the access to water. 

This simulated experience can happen at any age. My second-grade students in Finland won’t ever forget when I added mud to their clean dioramas to represent the effects of human interactions. Their dioramas were beautiful and represented the first line of inquiry, life in different ecosystems. Students showed so much commitment to the dioramas, and they were so proud of their efforts to represent the ecosystem with recycled materials. I used a paint brush to splatter mud and dirt on their work.

Again, how can learners understand our responsibility for balanced ecosystems without fully experiencing the impact of human actions themselves?

Students were so upset to see their hard work damaged. At first they were shocked. Some laughed. Others said nothing. Many looked to blame someone. I explained that it doesn’t matter who made the mess, we still needed to clean it up. 

Many students were unable to fully clean up the mess of my ‘human interaction.’ Although they could get some of the mud off, the outline of the mud and its damage had already been done. Some had torn out trees and replaced them. Although the trees were not as nice as the ones before, they still were pleased that they were able to fix it. 

Unpacking and reflecting on this learning experience allowed students to feel the gravity of human interactions. They could now start to understand the disaster of an oil spill or deforestation given their small scope of a diorama. 

So, at least once a year, do something wild they will never forget! And if you need the courage, share it with me, and let’s talk it out!

You gotta see this!

Eurovision 2022’s Norway performance continues to make me giggle. In case you’ve not seen it, yet: Give that Wolf a Banana https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJjo8s3fKUM