Every classroom presents a unique community of learners that varies not only in abilities, but also in learning styles. I believe that each child is a unique individual who needs a secure, caring, and stimulating atmosphere in which to mature socially, emotionally, and intellectually. I see my role as an educator as one that gives children the tools with which to cultivate their own fields of knowledge. I do this by fostering an affirming learning environment, facilitating the acquisition of life-long learning skills and empowering students to take risks in order to function in an ever changing world.
As a beginning teacher, I strive to create a positive, upbeat learning atmosphere which centers on encouragement, fun, and a cooperative team spirit. Every morning, I greet my students with a warm, firm hand shake, a friendly smile and a compliment. This not only models professional norms, but it is a way I connect personally with each of my students and show them I genuinely care about them. I also enjoy introducing each lesson with a “hook” to ignite the fire of learning with a new concept. It might be a mystery box full of objects that relate to each other in some fashion, an upbeat song to introduce our topic, an interactive game, or a dance motion to spark interest. At the end of each day, I rally the troops around and we do a loud and proud “superstar cheer” as a send-off. These are just some of the ways I create a cooperative spirit that reinforces an energizing learning environment in which camaraderie and respect for one another dominate.
I believe it is also essential to enhance students’ knowledge by providing hands-on, problem-based activities that cultivate a curiosity and an intrinsic motivation to learn. There is an old Chinese proverb that says, “Teach me and I’ll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I’ll understand.” Because students have different modalities of learning, I strive to engage students through differentiation that interests and inspires them to want to acquire knowledge. Students need to know the value and purpose of the information I’m presenting and be able to align it with authentic life situations whenever possible. One of the ways I accomplish this in my classroom is through cooperative learning groups where students are given tools and materials to work together on a task or solve a problem, while I facilitate learning and perform informal assessments. Peer teaching is another tool I use which allows students to explain or describe something to their fellow classmates in their own words in order to solidify understanding of that concept. For example, in a recent Science lesson on properties of soil, student groups analyzed different soil types and hypothesized which one might be better able to sustain plant life and why. Groups literally got their hands dirty, drew pictures of their observations, developed descriptive conclusions and presented their findings to the whole class. Students had an amazing discussion about the importance of soil in preserving our world’s food supply and the wide ranging implications soil can have on a society. They were highly engaged and learned a great deal from these experiments. As an educator, it is also my goal to foster higher level thinking skills and risk taking so that students are better able to succeed not only in today’s society but to prepare them for tomorrow’s dynamic marketplace. According to Edward Glaser, author of An Experiment in the Development of Critical Thinking,”Critical thinking calls for a persistent effort to examine any belief or supposed form of knowledge in light of evidence that supports it and the further conclusions to which it tends. It also generally requires ability to recognize problems and to find workable means to solving those problems.” While the process of thinking critically is one that evolves over time, I desire for my students to be inquisitive thinkers, making inferences and using problem solving strategies to extend their knowledge across learning modalities.
Students often want to be spoon fed information in a robotic fashion without ever taking the risk to try to discover information on their own. In the classroom, I regularly have students say, “I don’t get it,” before they’ve even attempted to re-read the problem and try to work out an answer. To avoid this, I strive to give students great tools and skills to become problem solvers by providing them with the chance to solidify knowledge and stimulate new learning. In our daily Math lesson, for instance, the class is presented with a word problem to solve. At first the problem may seem overwhelming, but we break it down and discuss the key components. “What do we know and what are we asked to do or find?” “What plans can we design to solve the problem?” “How can we implement our plans to solve the problem and double check to make sure our solution is reasonable?” This problem solving process encourages students to use critical thinking and reinforces a proud feeling of accomplishment. I want children to know that we are not always successful the first time we try to solve a problem or attempt something new, but that should never stop us from having the courage to take risks, analyze what we could do better next time and have perseverance. Winston Churchill, Britain’s Prime Minister from 1940-1945, was asked what he attributed to his success. He simply replied, “Never, never, never, never give up.”
As I reflect on my first year of teaching, I can truly say my greatest personal reward is seeing students realize their fullest potential with passion and perseverance. I absolutely love the uniqueness of every student and the challenge that comes with building each individual up to achieve academic victories. What a privilege and honor it is to be called a teacher!
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