Kayla Carew's Teaching Portfolio

The second YA novel that my PLC group read was  Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli, the novel that the new major motion picture Love, Simon  was based off of. In the novel, 16-year-old drama-loving Simon Spier explores his sexual identity as he works up the courage to come out to his friends and family. Only two people know that Simon is gay. The first person to find out is Blue, an anonymous classmate who has been corresponding with Simon via email since the summer. Blue is also gay and has yet to come out. The two talk using nicknames in order to maintain their identities. As Simon's feelings for Blue become real, he has to decide whether or not this relationship is worth the potential hardships.  The second person to find out about Simon's sexuality is Martin, a fellow drama-lover and the grade's class clown. Unlike Blue, Martin knows Simon's identity. He uses Simon's secret as blackmail in order to force Simon into being his wingman. Wil

Hi guys! Today's blog is brought to you by myself, Rylee Booth, and Allie Cullen (check out their blogs if you have time!). Adolescence is a time when emotions essentially control the mind and make it difficult to think rationally. There comes a time when an adolescent begins their journey into adulthood and must learn how to think, act, and regulate for oneself. The purpose of a coming of age ritual is to break from the norms that characterize adolescence. While some coming of age transitions are planned and purposeful, some events force adolescents into the transition to adulthood.  As Maslow’s hierarchy illustrates, safety is imperative, on all levels, for self-actualization to occur. In accordance with this philosophy, Vygotsky emphasizes the importance of social interaction through his concept of scaffolding, and how it is essential to cognitive development, especially throughout adolescence.  Using the various philosophies of Maslow and Vygotsky to guide our design, whi