My Beliefs as a Teacher--

Meaningful learning is relevant learning: One of the things that I believe students may struggle with is being motivated to learn. The best type of motivation is to be intrinsically motivated where you want to do something purely because one has the desire. My goal as in instructor is facilitate learning in a way that is relevant to them. A way that is real and applicable to something greater in the world then their next day’s assignment. This is challenging but is something I strongly believe it.  Whether it is putting a writing piece in the school newspaper, connecting what we are learning to something happening in the world, or simply discussing current events; there are countless teachable moments that take place everyday in a classroom that can easily be shaped into rich learning for students.

Provide a quality classroom environment and culture: Classroom culture is something that effects quality of teaching. A classroom environment should be a place where all students feel valued and respected by the teacher and by fellow students. Once a teacher has accomplished this they will have created an open environment where students are not afraid to take risks. They will be able to freely communicate and trust their classmates and teacher to respect their beliefs. Students come with a different home life and this has to be something that the teacher takes into consideration with their instruction. One of the best things I believe a teacher can do is create an environment in his or her classroom that takes away these barriers to further enrich the child. 

Display enthusiasm and passion for what we teach: What would school be like if the teacher did not show devotion to their work? Students would not be motivated to their best every single day (Miller 17). Teachers need to be modeling behavior that they would like to see in their students. I am not saying teachers need to be over the top about teaching, but they do need to emphasize the importance and desire they have to mold the minds of many students. Teachers have been graced with an ability to touch many lives and be an ongoing example, however this cannot happen if teachers to show their enthusiasm and passion for teaching.

All students can learn: Every class is granted with students with differing ability levels. A teacher needs to be the engine behind her classroom. She needs to help the students and provide the students with the tools they need to learn. It is challenging to scaffold students in a way that facilitates a learning experience for all students, but this is the teacher’s job. She needs to believe in the students and have faith that with the right instruction they will make gains academically. Without the teachers belief in the students the students will not learn anything. I believe that is the teachers task to work with colleagues, parents, and administrators to learn how they learn best and then create this environment for the student.

Students need love, support, and boundaries: With these three things students will be successful learners. Love and support go hand in hand and often times start with home life. There is a huge difference between students in a stable home versus an unstable home. This can certainly mark an advantage for certain students. Love and support can start with having someone check in and devout time to a child to help in their success in school. Students who do not have the advantage of having this life at home need to feel the love and support in the school setting. They need to feel welcome, comfortable and happy in their learning environment. The teacher needs to create a place where students like to be and feels appreciated. Students can also support students by challenging and helping them academically. This goes along with providing differentiated instruction depending on where the student is. I believe the teacher needs to meet the student where he or she is and find a way to push them as learners. Finally boundaries are ground rules or guidelines that the teacher creates to help students. School is a place where students need to learn discipline and develop good habits as young members of our society and I believe this can be achieved by creating boundaries.

Flexibility: This is one thing that is going to be extremely challenging for as a new teacher. I believe be flexible as a teacher is one of the most useful things that can allow students be learn in a classroom that is relevant. It is important for teachers to have a plan and objectives for a lesson, but often times the best learning experiences come from something that is not scripted (Miller 17). Sometimes as a teacher things happen that can not be expected but all I believe you can do is roll with the punches and create the best learning environment for students and sometimes that involves going off the planned scripted lesson.