MyTeachingPhilosophy

My decision to be a teacher did not come without some deliberate soul-searching. After eight years in the media business, my head told me to stay with the status quo. My heart told me I was destined for a nobler profession. Quite frankly, I can think of nothing more important than helping young people learn.

    With regard to writing, I strongly believe students should be allowed uninterrupted writing time every day. This time may be used for creative writing or class work for upcoming essays, poems, short stories, or plays. Second, students will write in phases of pre-writing, drafting, revising, and proofreading. Sometimes, they may work in peer response groups to gather feedback from classmates.They will also meet in one-on-one conferences with me to share their concerns, talk about their writing, and agree upon ways students can improve their writing. When my students write, I will write with them. Not only will it allow me to improve upon my own writing, but it will help me see the writing process through the students' eyes. Additionally, modeling good writing behavior will be a positive influence on my students. Finally, I will also ask students to complete a year- or semester-long Writing Portfolio that showcases their most significant writing pieces. This may consist of poems, essays, short stories, plays or other genres.

     With regard to literature, I intend to use a Reader Response-based approach in my classroom, in which the student's response is key to interpreting the text. In this sense, there are as many interpretations as there are readers. I will encourage students to form a conscious appreciation of literature, its purposes, and its ideas. Additionally, students will be expected to respond to an increasing range and variety of literature. They will critically examine and reflect on their own responses after reading. Literature circles, reader's theatre, artwork, and small and large group discussion - and of course, writing - are just some ways I intend to incorporate Reader Response in my classroom.

     I also intend to promote diversity in my classroom by using a Cultural Studies approach. Histories, relationships, tragedies, racism, citizen responsiblity, humanitarianism - these are just some of the themes my students will address through literature. Exploring themes like these lead us to a curriculum of diversity and, more importantly, to students' lives themselves.

   My general philosophy of education is two-fold. First, I believe that each child has a talent or special quality that needs to be nurtured. It is my responsibility as their teacher, to help students discover those strengths with the help of parental involvement and feedback, and to present fresh and interesting subject matter in an organized environment. Second, I want to challenge to set goals and reach them. I want to help create a success story, one student at a time. I know, realistically, that I can' save every child who walks through my classroom door. But if I can positively impact each student in at least one small way, then I will be validated.

   I believe one responsive and caring adult can make the difference between a child's success or failure. Our youth are in desperate need of guiding and understanding. I believe every child - regardless of socio-economic status, race, color, or gender - deserves a solid education. I want to be a teacher who can make students feel like they received one.