Nadia Misir is a writer and aspiring teaching artist from South Ozone Park, Queens. She currently works as an after school staff member with fourth graders who bring her a lot of joy and learning moments. Her writing has been published in Poetry, Kweli, Papercuts, Open City Magazine, No, Dear Mag, QUEENSBOUND and QC Voices. A former Asian American Writers’ Workshop Open City fellow, she received her BA in English from SUNY Oswego and an MA in American studies from Columbia University. She also holds an MFA in fiction writing from Queens College, CUNY. She has facilitated writing workshops in collaboration with South Asian Feminism(s) Alliance, Queens Memory, Reimagine, Five Boro Story Project and others. Her hobbies include eavesdropping on a Lefferts Boulevard-bound A train and doodling on the Q37 bus.
TAP Work:
TAP has really helped me think deeply about what my teaching philosophy is and who/what continues to inspire it. I have lots of worksheets and tools now to help make this process less overwhelming and to be more intentional about how I want to show up in a space to engage with students. This has been great for my own sense of self as an artist/educator and also for future job applications. I started my training around the same time I started a part time job as part of Henry Street Settlement’s after school staff at PS188 The Island School with fourth graders. The training taught me so much that I’m excited to continue folding into how I show up in that space. One example of something I brought into the classroom that I learned from TAP was using table stations to give students a choice of what activity they’d like to do. We had a crafting station with different textured papers and art supplies that I brought in, a TikTok dance challenge table, a table for students who just want to use their headphones and iPads and a table for board games + Uno. I know the after school space is different from what a residency would look/feel like, but it’s been really cool thinking about what teaching artistry can look like in this context.
Most Memorable TAP Moment:
There are a lot! I think my most memorable moment was hearing everyone in my fieldwork track present their teaching paths and the feedback we received after. It really inspired and comforted me to know that there’s a community of teaching artists to collaborate and build relationships with. Everyone had different approaches to the art they want to bring in to students, but it was clear everyone had a passion for working with young people and other community members who are part of the learning environments we’ll be teaching in.
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Sample of work/ Recently Published Piece
