Header photo from firstcovers.com on 12/07/13
I believe...
I believe that teachers must develop trusting and caring friendships with every single student in order to foster a productive learning environment. Students must know that they are respected and loved by their teacher and that they have somebody in their life that believes in them, and that they can trust.
I feel that creative measures should be taken by the teacher to create interactive and memorable lessons so that the class wants to participate, the students are engaged, the learning is relevant to their lives, they are excited for every class, and they can have a deeper understanding of the curriculum thanks to that personally significant connection.
I think that every student deserves the chance to explore their potential regardless of race, age, religion, gender, sexual orientation, background, or disability, and I believe that all students should be treated fairly and free of prejudice.
I feel that students should be pushed to their full potential and be guided to excellence through constructive feedback in a fair and consistent manner. I also believe that everyone is capable of learning and should be given an equal chance to discover their full potential, supported by the appropriate acknowledgement, praise, or celebration for their accomplishments.
I believe that school should be ‘fun’ as much as possible so that students learn to appreciate the learning process and develop a drive to want to acquire more knowledge, therein becoming lifelong learners.
I believe that every student should get the chance to explore their knowledge through as many techniques as possible in a stimulating, fair, and fun learning environment.
I also believe that teachers should strive to have excellent relationships with their coworkers to provide a sense of unity within the school’s community. Staff should serve as a team with common goals of student success and should collaborate together to keep the attitudes of teamwork thriving.
I think that new techniques and technology should be accepted as valuable and should be integrated into lessons if it can meaningfully meet the needs of engagement, for students to express themselves, to enhance digital literacy, to create positive digital footprints, and to teach the young 21st century learners how to be responsible digital citizens.
I feel that lessons and projects should provide opportunities for all types of learners to succeed based on factors such as their readiness levels, their interests, their preferred learning style, their choices, and so on.
I recognize that as a teacher I should maintain a professional attitude and reputation within the school but also in the wider community as well by maintaining professional attitudes, behaviour, and appearances. Teachers should also strive to be role models within the community by volunteering their time and supporting local events as a way of demonstrating to the students that their school is part of the larger community, and that teacher's care about them outside of the school as well.
I believe that students, coworkers, and parents should be given the utmost respect in regards to their opinions and suggestions. I accept that my own strategy may not always be the most productive or effective approach. I believe that the profession requires one to reflect upon feedback in a constructive manner and to potentially apply those ideas into future plans of growth in order to further develop.
I believe that the schooling years are meant for children to explore their individual identities away from their parental influence and to develop their social skills through conflict and decision making. I believe that teachers therefore must help to foster their critical thinking skills and allow students to consider others’ feelings and to work through conflicts together in a socially acceptable manner.
And finally, I believe that I have the power to make the difference in my students’ lives. I believe that there are days where everything will seem impossible but I recognize that my students may have similar thoughts in their minds as well, and that it is MY job to make them see the possibilities ahead instead of letting the negative thoughts take over. If my students know that I believe in them, then they will start to believe in themselves as well.
I feel that creative measures should be taken by the teacher to create interactive and memorable lessons so that the class wants to participate, the students are engaged, the learning is relevant to their lives, they are excited for every class, and they can have a deeper understanding of the curriculum thanks to that personally significant connection.
I think that every student deserves the chance to explore their potential regardless of race, age, religion, gender, sexual orientation, background, or disability, and I believe that all students should be treated fairly and free of prejudice.
I feel that students should be pushed to their full potential and be guided to excellence through constructive feedback in a fair and consistent manner. I also believe that everyone is capable of learning and should be given an equal chance to discover their full potential, supported by the appropriate acknowledgement, praise, or celebration for their accomplishments.
I believe that school should be ‘fun’ as much as possible so that students learn to appreciate the learning process and develop a drive to want to acquire more knowledge, therein becoming lifelong learners.
I believe that every student should get the chance to explore their knowledge through as many techniques as possible in a stimulating, fair, and fun learning environment.
I also believe that teachers should strive to have excellent relationships with their coworkers to provide a sense of unity within the school’s community. Staff should serve as a team with common goals of student success and should collaborate together to keep the attitudes of teamwork thriving.
I think that new techniques and technology should be accepted as valuable and should be integrated into lessons if it can meaningfully meet the needs of engagement, for students to express themselves, to enhance digital literacy, to create positive digital footprints, and to teach the young 21st century learners how to be responsible digital citizens.
I feel that lessons and projects should provide opportunities for all types of learners to succeed based on factors such as their readiness levels, their interests, their preferred learning style, their choices, and so on.
I recognize that as a teacher I should maintain a professional attitude and reputation within the school but also in the wider community as well by maintaining professional attitudes, behaviour, and appearances. Teachers should also strive to be role models within the community by volunteering their time and supporting local events as a way of demonstrating to the students that their school is part of the larger community, and that teacher's care about them outside of the school as well.
I believe that students, coworkers, and parents should be given the utmost respect in regards to their opinions and suggestions. I accept that my own strategy may not always be the most productive or effective approach. I believe that the profession requires one to reflect upon feedback in a constructive manner and to potentially apply those ideas into future plans of growth in order to further develop.
I believe that the schooling years are meant for children to explore their individual identities away from their parental influence and to develop their social skills through conflict and decision making. I believe that teachers therefore must help to foster their critical thinking skills and allow students to consider others’ feelings and to work through conflicts together in a socially acceptable manner.
And finally, I believe that I have the power to make the difference in my students’ lives. I believe that there are days where everything will seem impossible but I recognize that my students may have similar thoughts in their minds as well, and that it is MY job to make them see the possibilities ahead instead of letting the negative thoughts take over. If my students know that I believe in them, then they will start to believe in themselves as well.
Classroom community... (KSA 8)
Every teacher dreams of having a classroom where kids feel safe, loved, and valued. Classroom community and a safe environment are the key components to creating such a classroom. Every student deserves to have a teacher that is looking out for their best interest, and I believe that I can be that person for my students. With that being said, check out my views on inclusion and classroom community HERE
When it comes to classroom community, I always feel that in it is only fair that I open up my life, hobbies, and interests to my students if I expect the same from them in return. I believe that it is one of the keys to showing your students that you trust them, and that they can trust you in return. This is why I usually like to begin my first day with an introduction to myself (visit my background page for examples). If the age group is appropriate, I enjoy the idea of using classroom themes such as "How Full is Your Bucket?" as a way of enforcing positive classroom attitudes. After reading this great story and having class conversations about what it feels like to have a low bucket versus how good it feels to "fill someone's bucket" I do activities such as this one below for kids to recognize ways that they could fill other peoples' buckets every day (especially in the classroom!) That way when problems arise, I can refer back to the lessons we learnt while becoming bucket-fillers, and ask the students to empathize and to show consideration for each others' buckets.
When it comes to classroom community, I always feel that in it is only fair that I open up my life, hobbies, and interests to my students if I expect the same from them in return. I believe that it is one of the keys to showing your students that you trust them, and that they can trust you in return. This is why I usually like to begin my first day with an introduction to myself (visit my background page for examples). If the age group is appropriate, I enjoy the idea of using classroom themes such as "How Full is Your Bucket?" as a way of enforcing positive classroom attitudes. After reading this great story and having class conversations about what it feels like to have a low bucket versus how good it feels to "fill someone's bucket" I do activities such as this one below for kids to recognize ways that they could fill other peoples' buckets every day (especially in the classroom!) That way when problems arise, I can refer back to the lessons we learnt while becoming bucket-fillers, and ask the students to empathize and to show consideration for each others' buckets.
Another activity that I have used to introduce myself to a class is to bring in a "bag about me" as photographed below. I made this brown paper bag as a way of showing my students what is most important to me in my life as well as some of my likes and dislikes. The front of the bag includes a picture of a self portrait that I did in art as a way of showing my students how much I love art. The sides of the bag had my likes and dislikes, and the back of the bag had explanations for items inside my bag that "represent" important things to me such as a picture of my family, a mini basketball, an apple to represent teaching, etc. This activity is also one that I would love to do in my own class someday with each student making their own bag in the first week of class as a way of breaking the ice and getting to know one another.
Once the students have a pretty good idea of who I am as a person, I usually like to give out some sort of an "interest inventory" to get to know each of them a little bit. Below is an example of the interest inventory I gave out for Grade 3, along with some of the responses that I got back!
Throughout the year I like to continually emphasize the feeling of 'community' within the class by allowing for some chances to collectively work together to make one big project or display. For example, after learning about digital citizenship and safe online decisions, my class made one big promotional banner to display in the school. They were very proud of their poster, and they all got to take pride in it because they had all participated pieces towards the finished project. I believe that projects such as these ones help to emphasize teamwork and to show that 'togetherness' can be more successful than attempting something alone.