{"id":807,"date":"2019-09-17T11:37:31","date_gmt":"2019-09-17T18:37:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofeducation\/?p=807"},"modified":"2019-10-11T10:08:03","modified_gmt":"2019-10-11T17:08:03","slug":"inspire-empower-use-your-voice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofeducation\/inspire-empower-use-your-voice\/","title":{"rendered":"Inspire. Empower. Use Your Voice."},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Keri
Keri Pilgrim-Ricker<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

So often a common thread emerges amongst teachers: I didn\u2019t\nknow I wanted to teach until it was right in front of me. Of course, this is\nnot always the case. Some people know from middle school (or even earlier) that\ntheir careers and lives will be bound to teaching in some respect or another.\nOthers, like 2019 Oregon Teacher of the Year recipient Keri Pilgrim-Ricker,\ndiscover their profession through a passion and a need to inspire that passion\nin others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So often a common thread emerges amongst teachers: I didn\u2019t know I wanted to teach until it was right in front of me. Of course, this is not always the case. Some people know from middle school (or even earlier) that their careers and lives will be bound to teaching in some respect or another. Others, like 2019 Oregon Teacher of the Year recipient Keri Pilgrim-Ricker, discover their profession through a passion and a need to inspire that passion in others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI fell in love with ecology,\u201d she says of her time as an\nundergraduate, \u201cIt\u2019s research and inquiry driven and it\u2019s always asking\nquestions about how things interact.\u201d She wanted to be immersed in science, she\nwanted to ask the questions, yet she didn\u2019t want to constrain her focus \u2013 and\nthat is when she found teaching. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTeaching,\u201d Pilgrim-Ricker says, \u201chas filled that niche for\nme, in that there is still this crazy intersectionality of variables, but the\nvariables are now [my] students and their lives and their contexts.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In pursuing her passion, in acquiring knowledge and\nexperience, and finally in utilizing this expertise and turning it into\ncurriculum, Pilgrim-Ricker never feels limited. \u201cI still get to tell rich\nstories about science and I still get to be able to use inquiry skills to be\nable to figure out how to best serve my students.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, as Oregon Teacher of the Year, she perceives her challenges\nin a new light, a bigger and even brighter light. Pilgrim-Ricker says of her honor,\n\u201cI quickly realized that this award isn\u2019t really so much an award but a\nposition, and it\u2019s been phenomenally eye-opening to be able to connect with\nother state educators of the year, to create this cohort, to be able to explore\nthe difference in education systems and policies from state-to-state.\u201d This was\nher chance to not only be inspired but also to inspire, this time on a whole\nnew level. She sees the award as an opportunity to use her skills and influence\nto change the way we look at education and how we support students. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think education is a way of empowering voice. Not only\ndoes it inform how you say and what you say, but you have this unique ability\nas an educator to bring forward confidence in your students to help them see\nthemselves as problem solvers and to conquer complex tasks and challenging\nmoments in their lives.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pilgrim-Ricker received her undergraduate degrees in biology\nand animal science from Fresno State, she went on to Perdue to obtain her\nmasters. After graduating and trying to figure out her next step, she started\nto realize the importance and excitement of not only her own education but of\neducating future generations. A friend suggested she look into the Masters in\nScience Education program at Oregon State. \u201cI drove out to Corvallis,\u201d she\nsays, \u201ceverybody was friendly and it was amazing and you could walk and bike\neverywhere.\u201d Suddenly, everything fit together \u2013 the program, the school, the\nspace. For Pilgrim-Ricker, Oregon State fit like a snug pair of rain boots. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you are going to become an educator, especially a\ncontent area specialist, go learn educational pedagogy in a place that really\nknows your content because it really frames your context.\u201d Oregon State boasts of\na College of Education, whose innovative programs and distinguished faculty are\ncelebrated nation-wide. Combining that with the College of Science, a highly\nrespected and cutting-edge school which draws researchers and students from\naround the globe, this is a university worth choosing, particularly when\nanticipating a career in content specialization. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pilgrim-Ricker has remained in Oregon, currently a Career\nand Technical Education occupations health teacher at Churchill High School in\nEugene. In this position, she uses her Master\u2019s in Science Education to lead\nher students through an inventive and groundbreaking curriculum in the fields\nof anatomy and physiology. Still this isn\u2019t enough. Pilgrim-Ricker knows that\nsuccess, true success, is a network of teamwork. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe need to create environments for [teachers] that are as\nrich and collaborative and supportive as we create for our kids\u201d she urges. \u201cWe\ndeserve that. We need that to be sustained. And our kids will give some of that\nback in return, but you need passionate adults who will hold space with you,\nwho will be there to recognize when you are having a hard day and empathize.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keri Pilgrim-Ricker\u2019s methods are unique and demanding, they\nmake the student become an active partner in their education. They make\nteachers push themselves and challenges norms. As she says, \u201cCurriculum is\nconstant. Standards are constants. The only thing that is dynamic in education\nis you<\/strong>.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A school is so much more than a building, it\u2019s a space, it\u2019s\na body of students but it\u2019s also a body of teachers. Be involved. Be engaged.\nBe there for each other. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Follow Pilgrim-Ricker on twitter: @keriotoy19<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Jenna Patten, Writing Student Employee, College of Education<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So often a common thread emerges amongst teachers: I didn\u2019t know I wanted to teach until it was right in front of me. Of course, this is not always the case. Some people know from middle school (or even earlier) that their careers and lives will be bound to teaching in some respect or another.… Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9888,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-807","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofeducation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/807","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofeducation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofeducation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofeducation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9888"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofeducation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=807"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofeducation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/807\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":813,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofeducation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/807\/revisions\/813"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofeducation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=807"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofeducation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=807"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofeducation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=807"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}