Who I Am as a Teacher
I believe children can learn by being engaged with teachers who value positive interactions at all times. It is through strong, supportive relationships that children learn with the help of both curriculum and play. It is the role of the teacher to provide this environment in a safe, secure, and structured way, allowing children to move through the classroom confidently. When children are placed in a setting meeting these criteria, the child can best serve his or her role in the classroom: child; curious, energetic, and thoughtful. Furthermore, it is my duty to partner with families in order to cherish the skills that allow a child to be successful and home and merge those pieces with the skills learned at school. Lastly, families should help to facilitate classroom growth at home by taking the role of being a child's first teacher seriously. This role is the greatest as it creates a home environment that provides the basis for foundational growth by instilling morals, ethics, and/or religion.
Why I Am a TeacherI stumbled into teaching quite by surprise in the summer of my junior year of high school. I was in the councilor training program of the summer camp that I had grown up attending. I discovered that I had a passion for the behind the scenes scheduling, collaborating, and working to put smiles on the campers' faces. Since then, I knew that this was an experience that I wanted to replicate.
My mother, also a teacher, insisted that I pursue a Child Development Endorsement (ZS) along with my elementary certificate, as I would be more marketable. I ended up loving the child development program so much that I amended my programming and graduated with two full bachelor's degrees - Elementary Education and Child Development. My Goals for My Students Are...
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The Power of ObservationOne of the greatest responsibilities an educator has is to be able to learn as much about her students as she teaches them. An important way I do this in my classroom through vigilant observation. By observing, I am able to grasp a huge amount of information such as peer interaction skills, gross and fine motor skills, interests, problem solving skills, attention stamina, language usage, and many more.
By using observation as one form of assessment, I am able to shape my district's curriculum to the academic, social, emotional, and physical needs of my students. In doing so, I have the opportunity to educate the whole child. Fostering Positive RelationshipsAs a teacher, I can achieve very little without a positive relationship with my students. I work very hard to make respectful, deep connections to my students by learning their interests and needs.
It is imperative to me that they are greeted by name and with a smile each day. This is a huge opportunity to check-in with students to talk about what is happening in their lives since we've last seen each other. Also, looking for what me students are doing to enhance our classroom community lets each student know that his or her contributions are valuable and meaningful. |
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Every Kid Needs a Champion
Rita Pierson says it best in her TED Talk when she emphasizes the effect of relationships on students. She mentions the teacher's connection to the student, and that relationship's connection to that student's success in education. This TED talk resonates for me for several reasons, however there is one point in particular that cannot escape your mind: build relationships with your students how you would with anyone else; be interested in them, apologize when you're wrong, and lift up your students the same way you would lift up your closest friends. I really encourage you to watch Rita in the video below and then go celebrate the success of your students!