Philosophy Statement

Growing up every child’s wish on the first day of school is, “Please let me have a good teacher.” No one wishes “please let me learn a lot” or “please let me pass” because once you have a good teacher the rest of the pieces fall into place.
    Being that fantastic teacher is a lifelong aspiration for me; however it is not an easy task.  A teacher’s role is not only presenting material, but engaging every student by providing challenging tasks that require high level thinking. Although scripted curriculums target a middle population, I believe that it is the teacher’s job to challenge every student in the class without placing a ceiling on learning. Though differentiation, teachers can target students strengths and weaknesses
    My desire to challenge and engage every student by providing enrichment and setting high expectations comes from my own experiences and watching my sisters’ struggle with boredom in elementary school. “One of the most important parts of school is maintaining interest,” Dr. Sally Reis said in her presentation at the 2005 National Association for Gifted Children Convention. She explained that enriching the curriculum to make it more challenging and better aligned with students interests will result in improved learning and greater retention of information.
    The idea of incorporating students interest through curriculum enrichment is not knew. In fact, “student interest should guide the teaching” is one of the basic principles of the Progressivism educational philosophy (Martin and Loomis, 2007). When students are interested in what they learn, they take ownership in the process, creating a community feel in the classroom rather than a teacher dictated atmosphere.
    The classroom community and atmosphere is central to productive learning. It is crucial that every student feels they have an important role in the class and that their opinions are heard and valued. I hope that creating this level of acceptance in conjunction with interesting and engaging teaching will create a logical classroom management system that functions like a learning community rather than punishment and consequences.  In her article, Donna Ford wrote about the keys to high-performing, high-poverty schools; “Believe that achievement is the key to discipline. In other words, when students are challenged, and when students are taught self-control, self-reliance, and self-esteem, they have less time to become disinterested/bored, and to act out or misbehave. Thus, more time can be devoted to instruction” (Ford, 2007). Although she was discussing high-poverty environments, Ford’s statement can be applied to any classroom. I believe that keeping students challenged and engaged minimizes other classroom management issues. When students are interested they feel motivated to work hard, thus they are less likely to be off task or misbehaving. Unfortunately, it is easy to slip into the “drill and kill” style of teaching, which relies on lower levels of thought and often results in student’s acting out from frustration and boredom. Students who are labeled as “low” or “problem students” are the most likely to receive this monotonous work, resulting in a vicious cycle.
    Unfortunately, English learners often get sucked into the “drill and kill” cycle as well, when their English skills prevent them from illustrating their knowledge and potential.  Yet, on average for California 25.6% of students are English Learners and 14.9% are Fluent English Proficient (2003-4 Demographic Summary). Therefore, it is important to address language issues in the classroom though visual teaching styles to valuing the student’s native language. When thinking about engaging every student by providing challenging tasks that require high level thinking, I know simply relying on visuals will not be sufficient. Rather, I will need to create lessons that allow English Language learners to excel and demonstrate their strengths while challenging more than simply their English skills.
    Parents and family members can also offer insight on student interests and strengths, and involving the family in the student’s progress can enhance learning.  When parents are involved they motivate students, who in turn become more interested in their own work. Although many parents are busy, regular communication and questioning about student progress can lead to insights that help in teaching. For example, my own family became involved in my younger sister’s education. Since my sister was well behaved and had adequate coping skills, the teacher was unaware of her frustration levels in reading, yet working with my mom resulted in a change in the work my sister was given which in turn interested her and motivated her to work at it. Without the cooperation between my parents and the teacher, my sister would have spent the remainder of the school year frustrated and upset rather than enjoying reading.
    Besides involving student’s families, I also feel that the community involvement is important. For many students, school is a link to their community, and the classroom door is not a barrier to the outside world.  When considering ways to engage students, linking to things they are familiar with from cultural practices to community people and events is a great strategy.  Furthermore, my role as a teacher does not stop with the afternoon bell. In addition to creating dynamic and productive lesson plans to make a difference in the classroom; I hope to make a difference in the community. In the past I have worked on advocacy such as gaining Congressional support for the Javits Act, which provides crucial funding for research and programs to better serve and identify minorities in gifted and talented. As a teacher, I hope to be a leader in the education community and work with parents, teachers, and administrators in my own district to advocate for improved education policies and legislation. I realize that I will not be merely a teacher, but a part of the educational community working on important issues both inside and outside the classroom.
    In the end, everyone involved from the students and family to the community and teachers want the best for the students. From engaging students by working with their individual interests and strengths to advocating for their needs, I will continue to work towards challenging every student and motivating them to reach higher and go one step beyond what they believed possible.
 
Works Cited

Ford, D. “Diamonds in the Rough: Recognizing and Meeting the Needs of Gifted Children from Low SES Backgrounds” in VanTassel-Baska, J. and T. Stambaugh eds. (2007) Overlooked Gems: A National Perspective on Low0Income Promising Learners. The National Association for Gifted Children in conjunction with The Center for Gifted Education.

Language Policy and Leadership Office. California 2003-2004: Demographic Summary: English Language Learners and Immigrant Students

Martin, J.M and Loomis, K.S. (2007). Building teachers: a constructivist approach to introducing education. 1st edition. Thomson/Wadsworth CA.

Reis, S. (2005). Presentation at the 2005 National Association for Gifted Children Convention, Louisville KY.     From Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development and the National Research Center on Gifted and Talented. University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT.