This summer, I was lucky enough to touch base with Aaron Hogan during a Twitter chat. Aaron’s blog, Leading, Learning, Questioning has become one of my go to sites for quality discussion of important education issues. Aaron has become an important part of my PLN, and I am honored to have him share his insight with us this week.
5 Questions with… Aaron Hogan
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What do you most want your students to take with them from your classroom, school or district?
When students left my classroom (and now when they leave our high school campus), I want them to know that they have the power to make a profound impact on those with whom they interact. They will leave a mark on those they meet; the goal is to make that a positive one. Students need to know that they are influential, they can create change, and they have a duty to manage those responsibilities wisely.
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What are the most rewarding and/or the most frustrating aspects of education?
The relationships with students and staff are by far the most rewarding aspects of my work in education. Helping students learn that they have so much to offer others (not only through what they can do but also as a result of who they are) is such a blessing to be a part of.
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What advice would you give to young teachers?
Ask more questions. Try out that idea you think might fail. Try it again after it failed once. Learn from your mistakes. Ask others what they wish they had done differently. Meet up with other new teachers regularly. Meet up with a few veteran teachers regularly. Find “your people” on Twitter, both near and far; learn from one another and lift one another up.
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What has influenced your career the most?
More than anything, the encouragement I received from others to keep serving students and staff well has impacted the way I look at my work. Without their affirmation, I would have been quick to dismiss successes as coincidences and would have been far too hard on myself in the face of my shortcomings. The hopeful mindset that others extended to me has helped me to offer the same to others.
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As an educator, what are you currently focused on?
I enjoy spending time working with Social Emotional Learning on my campus and throughout my school district, and I also like staying connected to the English department where I learned to teach. I spend a fair amount of time engaging in my own PD on Twitter (find me at #LeadUpChat on Saturday mornings or at #TxEduChat on Sunday evenings–or leading #CSISDchat each Tuesday night). I’ve also recently discovered I have a voice for blogging that I didn’t know was in me.
Aaron currently serves as a high school assistant principal at A&M Consolidated High School in College Station, TX. Prior to entering administration, Aaron taught high school English at the same school. Aaron values asking great questions and talking through the intricacies of great classroom instruction, the benefits of social emotional learning, and the value of teaching students (and staff) to embrace risks in their learning.
Aaron can be reached out on Twitter at @aaron_hogan.