My Teaching Philosophy
I believe my number one role, as an educator, is to love my students. My hope is that each day in some way I would show all my kids that I love them and believe in them. I feel it is so important to build a relationship with each child who comes into my classroom and to earn their trust and respect. When a relationship has been built between the students and myself, they will soar academically. I believe in establishing a good relationship, not only with the students, but also with their parents. Parent teacher communication is key to the success of students. I communicate daily with my parents through student agenda books and our “HERO” (Have Everything Ready & Organized) binders, weekly Friday Folders, Remind 101, e-mail, classroom volunteers, and parent-teacher conferences. Parents are one of the most important resources in meeting the individual needs of each student.
In addition to the parent’s role in the success of my students, I find that having a community of trust and respect within the classroom is an integral component. In order to have a healthy classroom community, we utilize the philosophy of “bucket fillers”. We spend a great amount of time at the beginning of each year discussing and modeling how a “bucket filler” would act. A “bucket filler” is someone who fills others buckets (hearts) up with kind words or actions. Have you filled a bucket today? by Carol McCloud, is a great book I use to help teach my students the “bucket filler” philosophy. We have a “bucket filler” wall in my classroom and each child has a bucket. Throughout the year, students can write notes telling other classmates how they have filled their bucket. I believe through the “bucket filler” philosophy, I am fostering a safe and positive learning environment where students are not only building relationships with me, but also with each other.
It is my goal to challenge my students daily, with learning that is meaningful, engaging, and purposeful. I want to provide my students opportunities to grow and become critical thinkers and problem solvers. In my classroom, I provide my students with inquiry-based lessons and real world situations so they may learn to conquer issues at school and in their lives outside of school. I want to instill a passion for learning inside each child. I believe students must actively participate in, and take responsibility for, their learning. Just as I self reflect as a teacher, I believe students need to become self-reflective, so they can improve upon areas of difficulty and build upon areas of strength. One example of how I help my first graders to become self-reflective is by conferencing with them individually. During this conference, we examine their data folder. The data folder is a place where the students are responsible for tracking their academic progress and setting goals for themselves. As we hold these individual conferences, it aids me in the discovery of how differentiation may be beneficial to the success of my students. I believe that every child is different and learns in different ways. When planning lessons, I keep in mind that students need different experiences, some auditory, some visual, and some kinesthetic. I feel it is important for me as a teacher to be flexible and to modify my lessons as needed to reach all students. I use pretest and running records to help guide me on my students’ present knowledge of a subject. I differentiate, through the content, process, and product depending on the individual needs of my students.
Rewards as a teacher, goes beyond reading, writing and math. It is knowing my students might be a better person because of a positive role model, just as my first grade teacher was to me. If one child can look back in twenty-four years and remember the love I showed them, that is a good day. It is equally rewarding to see them grow academically. Part of the love I show to my students is giving them a sound education and when my efforts come to fruition it brings me great joy. These are the moments I treasure.
When my students, past or present, walk into my classroom, I want it to be a place where they know they are loved, safe, and cared for. As a teacher, your heart becomes involved as you get to celebrate the successes of life, but you also see the students who are hungry, tired, and already burdened by life at just six years old. This year at Robinson Elementary, our motto is “Every Moment Counts, Every Student Matters” I have taken this motto to heart and it has become my teaching philosophy. I want to be the best teacher I can be for each student. I try to bring to the classroom all of the skills and knowledge gained during my past nine years in education and past experience, but I believe the greatest gift I can give my students is to love and believe in them.