Module 1 Edu 790: Introduction Blog Post

 

Greetings! My name is Kassandra Tsitsopoulos, and I go by Kassandra and prefer she/her pronouns. As you're reading my first ever blog post, feel free to jam out to some Greek music by one of my favorite artists, Mixalis Hatzigiannis, he's guaranteed to get you in a good mood and give you some serotonin and dopamine hits! #PsychologyIsEverywhere

For the past 14.5 years, I have been a high school social science teacher on the northwest side of the city for Chicago Public Schools. I have taught primarily World Studies (all levels) and both regular and A.P. Psychology. I am also the Chicago Teachers Union lead delegate and the teacher representative for my school’s Local School Council. I also coached the JV soccer team from 2007 to 2018. I am the daughter of two Greek immigrants and was raised bilingual in both Greek and English.

I completed the ESL/Bilingual endorsement at Dominican in February and have decided to complete the additional four classes for a Masters. I am looking forward to learning strategies related to technology that I can implement into my classroom to help all my students reach higher levels of academic success. Truth be told, I am feeling a bit anxious about this class. I have never blogged before and do not read blogs, it's just not how I normally take in information as they have always appeared very subjective to me. I usually read a lot of non-fiction related to history or psychology. However, I am open to the opportunity to get out of my comfort zone and practice a growth mindset and engage in some productive struggle. 

        

          

  

Above you'll find my Facebook profile picture and landing page. I joined Facebook many moons ago in college (probably around 2005). At that time you needed a .edu email address from a university to join. I remember being very excited to join and become connected to friends at Loyola University where I attended. Today, I use Facebook for several reasons. It's a great way to connect with relatives and friends back in Greece. It is amazing to think that when I was growing up, making a phone call to Greece once a week was a huge ordeal and very expensive, and now using these platforms you can send a message or a picture in less than a second. I also use Facebook to share pictures and updates when I travel. As a history teacher, traveling is the best form of professional development and some of my favorite trips include going to Russia, Cuba, China, and of course Greece. Lastly, I use Facebook to connect with other educators and share resources. There is an AP Psychology Facebook page that is amazing! I get some of my best ideas and resources from there and it's become my go to page when I start a new unit. My current picture on Facebook is of my fiancé and I after getting my 2nd dose of the Pfizer Vaccine and wearing our "CTU Strikes Back" matching t-shirts. The cover photo is from an action my colleagues and I did where we taught our remote classes with our masks on in solidarity with educators who were being asked to return to unsafe working conditions. 

To be honest, I do not remember when I joined Twitter, but I know I joined primarily for political reasons. I use it to promote events for the Chicago Teachers Union and to tag politicians and CPS to encourage them to do right by our students, parents, teachers, and community members. I am not that active on it, but will check it from time to time. Recently, I used it to tag my alderman to sign on to the letter that over 40 alderpeople had signed in City Council about CPS' reopening plan. I am also on Instagram, but I prefer to keep that private. My Snapchat is not active and I only use it to entertain nieces and nephews who like playing with the filters. I have also recently tried out the "Clubhouse" app and have found it very interesting and would like to explore that more. 

Last, but certainly not least, I set up an Instagram account for my cat, Zoey. She's become our class pet during remote learning and my students like seeing cute pictures of her. So, if you need a break from drama and negativity and want to look at a cute kitty, feel free to follow her at @ZoeysPurrfectLife