“I completely admire the profession of education more so than anything. Please don’t ever be discouraged … if you’re overwhelmed reach out to fellow educators who understand what you do because what we do is truly, truly noble!”

Fast Facts about Vanessa

1. Full name: Vanessa Donino
2. Years teaching: 3
3. Grade(s) taught: 1st-3rd and Alternative High School
4. Current position: Educator of Incarcerated Youth at Oneida County Prison
5. Current city: Oriskany, NY
6. Past cities Vanessa has taught in: Bronx, NY, Clark County, NV
7. Why teach?: I teach because I want to help fight educational injustice and policies.
8. Favorite books:
   • Personal: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
   • Professional: Quality Questioning: Research-Based Practice to Engage Every Learner, by Jackie Acree Walsh, Beth Dankert Sattes … because Vanessa says, “I often see many educators struggling to get their students to independently arrive at correct answers and draw accurate conclusions, but the real problem is not planning the proper questions that assist students’ thought process—it requires metacognitive planning. Understanding the nature of asking quality questions helps your students to respond with quality answers, and allows them to develop their own question-asking skill.”
9. Resource mentioned during podcast interview: Engage NY