Taking Risks and Modelling What She Teaches- Teresa Gross’s P3

Teresa Gross is currently a Reading Specialist in Rochester NY and has been in education for 19 years as both a speech therapist and reading teacher. She has a Bachelor's Degree in Speech Language Therapy, a Master's Degree in Literacy and an advanced study degree in Educational Administration. Teresa is active on social media and currently moderates Twitter chats on Tuesday evening and Saturday mornings, #CodeBreaker and #PD4uandme. She had the honor of contributing to the book Stories in EDU: Sail with a Fleet (Volume 1) as well as peer editing a section of a book being published by EDUMatch coming out later this year. Her most recent accomplishment was being awarded the Golden Apple Award, by a student who nominated her, from a local news station.

Teresa’s favourite past of the writing process is editing. When Edumatch Publishing put out a call for editors, she jumped at the opportunity. While she isn’t sure of the title of the books that she edited, it will be coming out later this year. Teresa stated that, “Writing is so personal,” so she was pleased that the author accepted all of her suggestions.

Teresa was excited to prepare for her P3 . “I just love music. I played the violin from about years old to about college age...I love music, and I use it a lot in the classroom with the kids. Two of the songs on her playlist came to her right away, but she had to really think of one of them and choose from a variety of fun options.

Teresa’s nostalgic song is a throwback to the late 80’s. “It reminds me of when I was younger and now, looking back on that time, things seemed so simple.” She imagined being more carefree and hanging out, singing this song with her friends. She also liked the artist's red hair. (There is a newer version of this song that conjured the image of How I Met Your Mother’s Robin Cherbotsky’s Robin Sparkles songs). Get out your scrunchies because here is the original of Tiffany’s I Think We’re Alone Now:

Teresa’s identity song came from a transformational experience. Sadly, when she was 28, her life changed as a result of her father taking his life. In many ways, she defines her life in terms of before and after that point in time. “I just became a completely different person after that happened. My perspective on life changed. My perspective on teaching changed.” Teresa realized how precious time is and how unexpected life can be, sometimes. “I chose this song because the message from the song and the lyrics from the song are things that I live by.” Teresa stays informed and speaks out about suicide awareness. So much of who she is is tied into appreciating each moment and holding on to what’s precious. Here is Like I’m Gonna Lose You by Meghan Trainer featuring John Legend:

Teresa’s pick-me-up song is one that holds many meanings to her. As a result of her life experiences, she says that she has become more of a risk taker. She wishes she had been more like this when she was younger, and Teresa encourages her students to try new things, modelling it alongside them. This song is about that message of putting yourself out there and seeing what happens. Here is Shakira’s Try Everything from the movie Zootopia:

If you want to reach out to Teresa, you can find her on Twitter or follow her class account there. You can read more about Teresa and her work through her blog. You can order a copy of Stories in EDU. Teresa also runs two Twitter chats:

#PD4uandme (@pd4uandme) Saturday Mornings from 8:30-9:00 AM EST

#CodeBreaker (@codebreakeredu) Tuesday Evenings from 9:00-9:30 PM EST

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