Teaching Fellow Asiah Gadson is bringing the grit and leadership she honed as captain of the College of Charleston track and field team into her classroom.
Juggling life as a full-time student, Division I athlete and campus leader taught Asiah how to give it her all, even when there was a lot on her plate. That mindset shows up in how she leads her fourth and fifth grade classrooms at Meeting Street Academy – Charleston and challenges her students to reach their full potential.
“Asiah teaches with so much fire, intention and an eagerness to grow that is impossible to miss,” said Tamil Goodson, Asiah’s principal. “She takes the feedback and isn’t afraid to be the student to learn how to be an excellent educator for her students.”
Asiah majored in public health and planned to become a school-based occupational therapist. She thought Meeting Street Schools’ Teaching Fellows program would be a great opportunity to gain firsthand experience she could carry into her future career.
“Teaching is such a diverse career,” she said. “You are going to grow and be able to transfer all of the soft skills and concrete skills that you’ve learned.”
Asiah enjoys being coached by her school leaders and mentored by the experienced teachers she works with daily. Recently, Tamil gave Asiah feedback about ensuring students were doing more of the thinking, such as by participating and answering questions, during shared novel reading. Asiah made the change the next day, and her students were eager to answer questions and share their ideas in class.
“What makes her extraordinary is her belief in what students can become and her own hunger to grow,” Tamil said. “Our kids are so much better because of her.”
Asiah said the data analysis required by her major helped prepare her for her role as a Teaching Fellow. As a teacher, she said she analyzes her students’ test scores to figure out how to adjust her instruction.
“I like being in a position where I can learn and grow,” she said. “I can be the best version of myself every day, as long as I show up and I take the feedback and apply it.”
