Alyssa Supple

Professor Suk
Educational Field Experience EDUC 230-13
Spring 2015
Rationale Statement Bullied Video NJPTS Standard Nine
Statement of Standard Nine:
Professional Learning. The teacher engages in ongoing individual
and collaborative professional learning designed to impact practice in ways that lead to
improved learning for each student, using evidence of student achievement, action
research, and best practice to expand a repertoire of skills, strategies, materials,
assessments, and ideas to increase student learning (NJPTS, 2014, p. 35).
Name of Artifact: Bullied Video
Date of Artifact: April 3, 2015
Course: Education Field Experience EDUC 230-13
Rationale Statement:
Teachers are life long learners, and the activities that we engage in both outside
and inside of the classroom impact our teaching philosophies and practices. Standard
Nine further explicates: The teacher sees himself or herself as a learner, continuously
seeking opportunities to draw upon current education policy and research as sources of
analysis and reflection to improve practice, (NJPTS, 2015, p. 37) It is important to
remember this as we enter the teaching profession since we serve as imperfect role
models and confidants for our students. As teachers, we should work to enrich our
knowledge and understanding for the benefit of our students as we work to aid students in
reaching their fullest potential. In relation to the video Bullied, a documentary centered
around the journey of a homosexual student who was treated unjustly by his fellow
students and his teachers, it is blatantly clear that some teachers and administrators do not

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set aside their biases for the wellbeing of their students, nor do they undertake in the
efforts to better understand their students and the world in which they are living.
Teachers play an important role in the lives of students, and if we are not taking
this responsibility seriously, we may be harming our students. Standard Nine explains the
actions we need to take as teachers in order to best relate to and nurture our students:
The teacher is committed to deepening understanding of his or her own frames of
reference (for example, culture, gender, language, abilities, and ways of knowing), the
potential biases in these frames, and their impact on expectations for and relationships
with learners and their families, (NJPTS, 2015, p. 36-7). Bullied illustrated just the
opposite, as many of the teachers involved with the bullying incidents were unwilling to
adopt a new mindset that would have allowed for them to protect their student. Just as
important as deepening our understanding is the ways in which we do so. The learning
process is one that we engage in every day as lifelong learners, and it is our goal as
teachers to adapt our practices to best benefit our students (NJPTS, 2015, p. 36). We must
be willing to adjust our practices and evaluate our actions in the classroom, as we take
responsibility for student learning and [use] ongoing analysis and reflection to
improve planning and practice, (NJPTS, 2015, p.36). Furthermore, we need to utilize
our resources and work to foster personal connections that improve educational growth
(NJPTS, 2015, p. 36), as only a few teachers did in the incidents outlined in Bullied.
The Bullied video further illustrated how influential teachers are in the lives of
their students. While this video focused on a tragic scenario that was eventually resolved,
the main idea is still of how our actions and practices as teachers affect our students lives

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outside of the classroom. Teachers should be trustworthy and understanding individuals
who go to every effort to improve student wellbeing.
I will remember this video and the lessons it has taught me well into my own
teaching career. I want my students to be able to express themselves freely, and I want to
expand my own understanding so that I can best relate to my students, all while fostering
their education.
References
Professional Development in New Jersey. (2014, August 4). Retrieved from New Jersey
State Department of Education: http://www.state.nj.us/education/code/current/
title6a/chap9c.pdf