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Hello! My name is Victoria Jasztal, and I teach 4th grade students at Moton Elementary School, a Title I school of approximately 800 students, located in Brooksville, Florida. This is my sixth year teaching.

I graduated from Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida. I am endorsed to teach ESL students and plan to earn my master's as well as my doctorate in elementary reading. Currently, I am a Florida Digital Educator (http://etc.usf.edu/fde/).

I strive to be a trustworthy, compassionate, enriching, and encouraging teacher who is a strong role model for my students. I encourage my students to find their niche and believe that they can accomplish great success. For every lesson and unit I design, I try to get into the mindsets of my students and develop resources that are authentic and stimulating. Concepts we learn about in class are not introduced in isolation, I teach my students how every concept they learn in my classroom has a real-life connection. Technology is interwoven in the curriculum where my students make slideshows in Microsoft Power Point, record podcasts using Audacity, and create digital videos.

Though I always wanted to become a teacher to some extent, there was a main event in my life that confirmed that desire. In 8th grade I belonged to the FHA (Future Homemakers of America) chapter at my school. I entered their annual competition, where I developed a project using available technologies. One day, after school on the bus to the local elementary school where my mother worked, an idea came to me: I could make a tactile, auditory, olfactory, and visual book for special education students. On each page of The Everyday Book, I "transported" readers to places such as the circus or beach. I created my book in a way that every student, despite his or her disability, could "experience" different places.

Four ideals form the basis of my teaching philosophy:

1. Teacher as Author and Book Enthusiast
2. Writing is authentic
3. The power of collaboration
4. Students are unique individuals

I invite you to learn more about me, my teaching, and my classroom at: http://www.teachingvision.org/