My most influential teacher was my fourth-grade teacher, Ms. Park. Ms. Park was a kind, encouraging teacher who valued and included all of the students’ perspectives and voices. She led us in historical re-enactments, encouraged students to design their own learning goals, and taught in an inquiry-based manner that had us following our interests in deep, rich, sustained ways. After learning about owls, she asked us how we could help, and the class came up with building owl boxes to mitigate habitat loss for owls in our area. I volunteered my carpenter father to find and cut the wood, and our class planned, designed, and built owl boxes that students put up in their backyards. We ran a mock parliament to decide historical issues, with Ms. Park allowing us to decide roles, determine questions and focuses, design and paint backdrops, write scripts, practice, and finally debate the issues at parliament. Ms. Park’s project-based classroom was exciting and engaging, and she created a collaborative, respectful environment that empowered learners as leaders.
My metaphor for my teaching style is celebratory banners, to symbolise the way I want to celebrate my students’ strengths and empower them as learners, much like Ms. Park did for me in fourth grade. 
