My Teaching Philosophy
I believe that everyone has a right to an education that assists them in reaching their personal and professional goals. I believe that goals are constantly changing and moving and educators have a duty to assist any student in making sure they have the skills and resources necessary to reach those goals. I know that my actions and thought processes must change from year to year based on the students that enter my classroom. Student investment and needs change what the mission and vision might be for the year. Although I may have a general idea based on what my school, the city or the nation wants to happen, things will change based on my class and their needs. I believe that small group instruction and differentiation, must begin as early as possible to benefit all students, regardless of the year and who they are. This allows me to get to know each student and begin giving them the supports needed to make the most improvement throughout the year.
I prioritize working on relationships with students and their families along with moving data to improve their reading and math levels. I have created binders for each student that hold their goals and what they have worked on so far this year. These binders have helped to make my students aware and be held accountable for their education. With these binders, at the end of each trimester, their parents (or other family members) come and see what information has been put into these binders and the students present this information to those who attend their meeting. Being able to have this process inside of the classroom has created a culture in which everyone is held accountable for the learning of each student. This engagement has been extremely beneficial and built the confidence of my students as they work towards presenting the information in their binder.
As a teacher in Baltimore City Public schools, it is important that I am invested in my students as people, and not just as students. They come into my classroom with more experience outside of school than I have in my entire life. I believe that students need support inside and outside of the classroom in any way possible. Some students need support in engaging with the classroom community. Others need support in how to push their learning. Finding out what each student needs is just as important as teaching the curriculum to my students. If I cannot teach them content, skills, and how to adjust based on heir needs, they will have a harder time retaining the content presented. I believe that, given the right resources and tools, every single student has to potential to succeed in whatever they set their mind to. If we put parameters around students, we are stunting their growth. It is my job to open their eyes and minds and make sure that they know how to create and reach their own goals.
From year one to year three, as a teacher, I have adapted my mission and vision in many different ways. As I walked into the school as a first-year teacher, I was determined to move students to be on and above grade level. I was unaware of what they were going through when they walked out of the school doors. In my classroom for the past three years, the majority of my students have been significantly below grade level. While this does not change my goal of moving students to on and above grade level, I use this data to change how I approach and support my students. I spend the majority of my day in small group instruction to make sure that the information that is being taught is direct and geared towards their learning. This allows the whole group instruction to be more meaningful when students are able to get what they need when working at a ratio of no more than 5:1 with the teacher. This had also led to greater engagement and better relationships between myself and my students.
I have looked at myself as a professional and realized that, as a teacher, having the exact same mission, vision and goals from year to year is unrealistic. Understanding that the overall goal is for students to be working on grade level and improving their skills is the most important goal, but how they will achieve that goal will change from year to year. It is also important to realize that movement is movement, while we may not be satisfied with minimal movement, we are self-reflective on how to be the best teacher we can be and provide what each students needs.
I prioritize working on relationships with students and their families along with moving data to improve their reading and math levels. I have created binders for each student that hold their goals and what they have worked on so far this year. These binders have helped to make my students aware and be held accountable for their education. With these binders, at the end of each trimester, their parents (or other family members) come and see what information has been put into these binders and the students present this information to those who attend their meeting. Being able to have this process inside of the classroom has created a culture in which everyone is held accountable for the learning of each student. This engagement has been extremely beneficial and built the confidence of my students as they work towards presenting the information in their binder.
As a teacher in Baltimore City Public schools, it is important that I am invested in my students as people, and not just as students. They come into my classroom with more experience outside of school than I have in my entire life. I believe that students need support inside and outside of the classroom in any way possible. Some students need support in engaging with the classroom community. Others need support in how to push their learning. Finding out what each student needs is just as important as teaching the curriculum to my students. If I cannot teach them content, skills, and how to adjust based on heir needs, they will have a harder time retaining the content presented. I believe that, given the right resources and tools, every single student has to potential to succeed in whatever they set their mind to. If we put parameters around students, we are stunting their growth. It is my job to open their eyes and minds and make sure that they know how to create and reach their own goals.
From year one to year three, as a teacher, I have adapted my mission and vision in many different ways. As I walked into the school as a first-year teacher, I was determined to move students to be on and above grade level. I was unaware of what they were going through when they walked out of the school doors. In my classroom for the past three years, the majority of my students have been significantly below grade level. While this does not change my goal of moving students to on and above grade level, I use this data to change how I approach and support my students. I spend the majority of my day in small group instruction to make sure that the information that is being taught is direct and geared towards their learning. This allows the whole group instruction to be more meaningful when students are able to get what they need when working at a ratio of no more than 5:1 with the teacher. This had also led to greater engagement and better relationships between myself and my students.
I have looked at myself as a professional and realized that, as a teacher, having the exact same mission, vision and goals from year to year is unrealistic. Understanding that the overall goal is for students to be working on grade level and improving their skills is the most important goal, but how they will achieve that goal will change from year to year. It is also important to realize that movement is movement, while we may not be satisfied with minimal movement, we are self-reflective on how to be the best teacher we can be and provide what each students needs.