A teacher, to me, is someone who assists students in becoming their best selves. It is not someone who lectures to students and has them memorize required facts in order to simply regurgitate them on a test. A teacher is someone who loves, encourages, motivates, empowers, and instructs. The way that I approach teaching my students each year is very student-driven and no two years will ever look the same in my classroom. I love finding out what interests, and therefore motivates, my students and work very hard to incorporate those things into as many lessons as I can. I want learning to be fun, yet focused in order to build a love of learning within each student that will continue with them when they eventually will leave my classroom.
I strive to provide a safe and engaging community for all students where acceptance, patience, and understanding are promoted. I make it a priority to create a strong sense of community and family within my classroom each year so that regardless of where kids come from or go to outside of school, they know they have a loving and supportive family while at school. Another way I prepare a safe and engaging community of learners in my classroom is by being present and approachable to my students. I make sure that students do not just feel safe within the four walls of my classroom, but that they feel safe coming to me for whatever they need and know that I will be their biggest cheerleader and resource.
I want instruction to be equitable for all students in order to encourage a love for learning and creativity. Differentiation is at the forefront of how I plan instruction in all subjects and for each and every day. No two students are the same and neither should the way that they learn. Therefore, I spend a good amount of time throughout each school year getting to know each and every learner in my class to best cater my teaching to them. I understand that students change a lot throughout the school year, which is why I do not just get to know their preferences, strengths, and struggles at the beginning of the year, but rather consistently from the first day of school to the last.
I focus on promoting individuality so that students can focus on the beauty in difference rather than the comfort of similarity. I do not want my students to be blind to differences in each other, nor do I want my students to let stereotypes and judgments to guide their thinking. Therefore, I spend a lot of time during each school year celebrating the many differences between students, allowing each and every learner an opportunity to share with the class in their own special way what makes them unique. This allows students to learn more about each other as well as show them that striving to all be the same is the wrong way to go about life. In the end, I find that the more informed students are and the more that differences are promoted and encouraged, the more likely they are to feel more confident in their own skin and more confident in who they are as unique individuals. Finally, students should also be free to take ownership in their learningand be provided the opportunities to investigate in order to learnrather than be told explicitly what they need to know. My classroom will involve students monitoring their own learning and growth, as well as encouraging each other in their learning journeys. My role is more of a facilitator of learning opportunities rather than a lecturer. I try to promote intrinsic motivation in students rather than purely external motivation. I believe that intrinsic motivation will help students be more successful throughout their lives. Therefore, since my goal as a teacher is to help them achieve success in their lives beyond school, this is a very big deal to me.
All photos taken by Kathryn Orr unless otherwise specified