Teacher Stories: Shakeira Porter, Kindergarten Teacher at East Orange and previous 5th Grade Math Teacher for Newark, 2026-2027
I was inspired to be a teacher when I realized that a lot of students were struggling with reading, and I also realized when I first started that a lot of teachers did a lot of girl things in the classroom. There were a lot of women teachers, and so a lot of boys didn’t have that interest in reading because they would constantly want to read other things than what was assigned. It was more like a classroom made for girls. So, I always make it my business to check my color scheme. I make sure it’s not pink and purple. And then I also strategically put more books in my classroom that I know the boys are going to be interested in reading, even if it’s from Captain Underpants all the way into anything else. It’s all so that they are inspired to read.
I decided to teach in Newark because I wanted something different. I’ve been a teacher since 2006, so it’s been about, almost 20 years, and I just wanted something different. So, I went to Newark to transition to be a math teacher for fifth grade. My personal teaching philosophy as a teacher, regardless of what I am teaching, is to help students to think and for the students to feel like I am connecting with them the way I want to. I am constantly checking in with my students. I call it “checking the temperature”. You have to check the temperature to make sure that they understand because you can teach all day, but they may not understand it. So, you have to check in. For me, it looks like me walking around the room, and I look at their faces. I can read their body language. I can tell when they’re struggling. And sometimes you let them struggle a little, but then you go and check in and make sure you give them a little reinforcement and support.
You have to make adjustments going from kindergarten to the older kids because they’re a little bit older, but they still are under the realm of elementary education. 5th Grade is right before they transition into middle school, so you have to make bigger adjustments as their teacher, but I think that at the end of the day, they still want to be supported and they want to be loved and respected, and that’s the most important part.
Interview by Gregory Andrus
