Educational Philosophy
I want to foster a love of learning in every child so that they develop into lifelong learners! In order to do this, we need to have a strong classroom community, culturally responsive teaching, learning has to be fun and children need to know they can succeed.
Strong Classroom Community
A classroom is a second home for students, as they’re spending a quarter of their day there. It needs to be a place where they are excited to come to, feel safe to express themselves, are challenged and can flourish. It is not “my” classroom, it’s “our” classroom. Students learn to support each other academically, socially and emotionally. First, they try to resolve challenges independently then ask friends for help instead of immediately going to the teacher. We are a minicommunity founded on respect where students learn how to be good citizens with embedded character education. Every interaction is a learning opportunity, students collaborative conversations and communicate with all people in a variety of situations. Students learn to respect everyone and try to understand each other’s perspectives. We celebrate and learn from our differences. Our classroom is a family that learns, grows and succeeds together not only in academics but all aspects of life.
Culturally Responsive Teaching
Children come to the classroom with their own experiences, knowledge, beliefs, values and home life that are essential to their education. I take the time and provide my class with time to learn about each student so they know how important they are to me and our class community. When I understand and incorporate students’ passions, culture, and interests into lessons they are more engaged, want to learn and feel valued. Open lines of communication with families are essential for the best education possible. I need to understand what is happening in the home because this affects the child in the classroom. Parents need to know what is happening in the classroom so there is continuity between home and school. It is important to maintain constant communication with parents about all aspects of a child, not just their struggles. Children learn that a phone call home is not just for doing something wrong but to make sure their parents know about their current progress and accomplishments. It is essential that all forms sent home are in a child’s home language so family can easily read and understand what is happening. Parents should feel welcomed and a part of our class community. I acknowledge, respond to, and celebrate my students’ culture while providing equitable access to education for students from all cultures.
Education Should Be Fun
Students should want to come to school and learn. My lessons are engaging and designed around my students using multiple modalities and hands on experiences. Students see the connection between lesson objectives and the real-world application. Most of my lessons incorporate technology, as it is essential to teaching in this generation and a passion of mine. Technology helps build prior knowledge and gives students a passport to anywhere in the world. It allows students to experience things they may never get to in their day to day lives. When students are the focus of lessons, engaged, feel my passion, and love what they are doing, they are bound to love learning and become lifelong learners.
Every Student Can Succeed
Our classroom is founded on high expectations for all students both academically and behaviorally, regardless of race, culture, religion, gender or anything else that can result in students being treated unequally. These expectations are clearly communicated and essential for a culturally responsive classroom where every child succeeds. Classroom expectations are worked toward and achieved through consistent formal and informal assessments with feedback and student reflection on their progress. I am continually observing student learning to see when standards are being met or, when scaffolding is needed to support students if they have not learned it “yet,” as supported by the philosophy of Growth Mindset by Carol Dweck. At the end of every week I sit 1:1 with my students to review and reflect on their week and fill out a parent communication form. I then plan proactively with differentiated multimodal learning, using the tools my students individually need so that each student can achieve lesson objectives. To do this I use a teaching model of whole group then work with small groups or one-on-one to support students in reaching their next level of learning based on students’ prior needs and understanding during this lesson. During this time the other students work in pairs or independently, giving them the opportunity to support each other and show what they can achieve independently. I set high and clear expectations that my students know are attainable through self-reflection, a growth mindset, and consistent assessment and feedback.
Strong Classroom Community
A classroom is a second home for students, as they’re spending a quarter of their day there. It needs to be a place where they are excited to come to, feel safe to express themselves, are challenged and can flourish. It is not “my” classroom, it’s “our” classroom. Students learn to support each other academically, socially and emotionally. First, they try to resolve challenges independently then ask friends for help instead of immediately going to the teacher. We are a minicommunity founded on respect where students learn how to be good citizens with embedded character education. Every interaction is a learning opportunity, students collaborative conversations and communicate with all people in a variety of situations. Students learn to respect everyone and try to understand each other’s perspectives. We celebrate and learn from our differences. Our classroom is a family that learns, grows and succeeds together not only in academics but all aspects of life.
Culturally Responsive Teaching
Children come to the classroom with their own experiences, knowledge, beliefs, values and home life that are essential to their education. I take the time and provide my class with time to learn about each student so they know how important they are to me and our class community. When I understand and incorporate students’ passions, culture, and interests into lessons they are more engaged, want to learn and feel valued. Open lines of communication with families are essential for the best education possible. I need to understand what is happening in the home because this affects the child in the classroom. Parents need to know what is happening in the classroom so there is continuity between home and school. It is important to maintain constant communication with parents about all aspects of a child, not just their struggles. Children learn that a phone call home is not just for doing something wrong but to make sure their parents know about their current progress and accomplishments. It is essential that all forms sent home are in a child’s home language so family can easily read and understand what is happening. Parents should feel welcomed and a part of our class community. I acknowledge, respond to, and celebrate my students’ culture while providing equitable access to education for students from all cultures.
Education Should Be Fun
Students should want to come to school and learn. My lessons are engaging and designed around my students using multiple modalities and hands on experiences. Students see the connection between lesson objectives and the real-world application. Most of my lessons incorporate technology, as it is essential to teaching in this generation and a passion of mine. Technology helps build prior knowledge and gives students a passport to anywhere in the world. It allows students to experience things they may never get to in their day to day lives. When students are the focus of lessons, engaged, feel my passion, and love what they are doing, they are bound to love learning and become lifelong learners.
Every Student Can Succeed
Our classroom is founded on high expectations for all students both academically and behaviorally, regardless of race, culture, religion, gender or anything else that can result in students being treated unequally. These expectations are clearly communicated and essential for a culturally responsive classroom where every child succeeds. Classroom expectations are worked toward and achieved through consistent formal and informal assessments with feedback and student reflection on their progress. I am continually observing student learning to see when standards are being met or, when scaffolding is needed to support students if they have not learned it “yet,” as supported by the philosophy of Growth Mindset by Carol Dweck. At the end of every week I sit 1:1 with my students to review and reflect on their week and fill out a parent communication form. I then plan proactively with differentiated multimodal learning, using the tools my students individually need so that each student can achieve lesson objectives. To do this I use a teaching model of whole group then work with small groups or one-on-one to support students in reaching their next level of learning based on students’ prior needs and understanding during this lesson. During this time the other students work in pairs or independently, giving them the opportunity to support each other and show what they can achieve independently. I set high and clear expectations that my students know are attainable through self-reflection, a growth mindset, and consistent assessment and feedback.
I created this video to express my educational philosophy with a multicultural emphasis.