Miranda Smith | Marilyn Brooks Elementary Excellence in Teaching

Miranda Smith

IB World School at Huffman Elementary School | Visual Art Teacher

E-mail congrats

Teaching Philosophy 

My teaching philosophy as an educator is to greet each day on my campus with reckless love and optimism. I make the choice in every aspect of my teaching, how I greet my community, how I plan my lessons, how I hold my students and myself accountable and in how I celebrate my students’ success. This choice empowers all stakeholders in my community including myself and my personal journey as an educator.

Practicing reckless love and optimism begins the moment I step onto my campus; I will always greet my coworkers with a warm good morning and put intentional effort into each interaction, asking them how I can best support them as often as I can, sometimes it's something big like scheduling breaks to support a specific student, or little things like lending supplies. It continues to how I interact with student guardians. I will greet them and their students by name when I open the doors at drop off and pickup. I intentionally try to connect with parents over little positive moments with their student in the art studio as well as communicating with them as often as possible if the student is struggling. The teacher and the parent are on the same team, collaborating for student growth and success. I know how much my heart soars with pride when their student meets a goal, I cannot imagine being in that parent’s shoes. And most importantly, my top priority is optimism and love for my students. Learning how they learn, their background, their strengths and struggles. My best use to them is to adapt to the needs of each individual student, loving them through positive words and actions with inclusivity and equity is the most important part of my job. My first job is for them to know they are safe, loved and any learning is icing on the cake. It is so difficult to be an educator, it’,s so difficult to be a parent or guardian, it is so difficult to be a student in unprecedented times for so many different reasons. It takes a village and I want to be a light and a team player for all stakeholders in my elementary community.

When I plan my lessons as an art educator I find it incredibly rewarding to be as intentional as possible in making meaningful connections with my students’ classroom content, as I guide them in process-based exploration of historic and modern art. I practice reckless optimism while making these connections because students will meet your expectations every single time. If you set your intentions high while lesson planning, your students' connections to their lesson will enrich their learning in the homeroom, and will increase student confidence as they build up on prior knowledge. I also practice reckless love in my lesson planning through the understanding that not all 500+ of my students will become traditional artists. I build my lessons to be process focused, so that the students will take away lessons in project-based learning, learn to use art as a communication tool, to think critically when consuming art, and as a form of self-expression. Constantly adapting my lessons to the needs of my students is an act of service I will always perform for my community.

Finally, it is so important to me to practice reckless optimism and love when I reflect on my work as an educator. I am a Plano ISD alumn myself with countless memories of how my communities supported me and gave me the powerful practice of observation and reflection. As my principal always says, the smartest person in the room is the room. Most of the time, the best thing I can do as an educator is to be a lifelong learner and ask questions. Asking my students how they want to learn and create or problem solve, giving them a stronger voice in their work. Asking questions to my students’ parents and guardians because they know their student the best. Asking questions to my coworkers and administrators, understanding that their perspectives can help me grow and strengthen my craft.

The more I listen to my community, continue to be willing to bend, assume positive intent, to learn and to try again, I can create memorable and higher-quality learning experiences and connections to my students and watching that lightbulb moment or to hear the excitement in their voice makes it all worth it.

I chose education because of my desire to pay it forward. The love I received from my community, the ability to think critically of myself and the world around me while finding joy in my own success and the success of those around me (celebrating with sincere words or a silly dance is my chosen reckless optimism) and the love becomes more real. I hope it is something that can strengthen the community I love. Going to work with these kids and incredible educators and stakeholders is the best part of every day.


Dear Teacher of the Year Selection Committee:  

It is with great pleasure that the IB World School names Miranda Smith Brothers as our 2022-23 Teacher of the Year. Mrs. Brothers exemplifies everything that our campus stands for and has a heart for making our scholars feel valued, connected and successful. She builds relationships with students, staff and our community. Mrs. Brothers is also a valuable member of our leadership team.

One of the things that is most important in an outstanding educator is their ability to be an excellent learner. After all, teachers are going to teach students to learn, they must be able to model that first and foremost. I can absolutely certify that Mrs. Brothers excels at learning. She is always seeking to grow and improve in their craft. Whether through professional learning with her department, learning how to apply International Baccalaureate principles in her classroom, or studying leadership strategies, she is always working to grow.

To be Teacher of the Year at the IB World School, this teacher should exemplify our Learner Profile Traits. While Mrs. Brothers is so strong in all ten of these characteristics, I wanted to share with you three in particular: Reflection, Communication, and Caring. Mrs. Brothers has a gift for reflection. This is so important, because it is reflection where the true learning occurs. When we reflect, we think about what has occurred and how we will incorporate that into how we will use that information in our future.

Mrs. Brothers is always considering events, thinking about what worked and how we can improve. She takes this reflection and uses it moving forward to improve in her craft. This year, Mrs. Brothers has used that reflection to secure an Educational Foundation grant to revive our campus garden while tying it to artistic principles to show students application of art while making our community better. Mrs. Brothers is an amazing communicator. Whether with students, with colleagues, or with our community, she always communicates effectively. She shares celebrations of students' successes in and out of the classrooms, but she also communicates when there are challenges, so that we can come together as a problem-solving team to resolve issues and make our school better for our scholars. Mrs. Brothers heart for our campus ensures that if she sees a need; she brings it to the table. Her communication skills have helped initiate our campus' Club Friday program, that provides collaborative learning time for teachers and real-life application for students. She has been key in helping new staff to embrace this concept with her communication.

Finally, Mrs. Brothers is one of the most caring people I know. She uses her gifts of reflection and communication to take care of others. She takes the time to get to know every student. Knowing all the Huffman Hawks helps her to make connections so that they can see the importance of her lessons. She greets every child by name and goes above and beyond in all that she does, because she cares so much about making our school the very best.

It is with pride that I highly recommend our teacher of the year, Miranda Brothers.

Sincerely,

Vanessa Stuart, Principal

The IB World School at Huffman Elementary