Teaching Philsophy

I firmly believe that every child has the ability learn and succeed! Being an effective teacher has a great influence on student achievement and success. With 7 years of experience in teaching first grade and 1 in Kindergarten, completing courses related to being an effective teacher, and in researching new teaching methods and ideas on my own, I bring my best knowledge and experience into the classroom each and every day. All students deserve to have a highly effective teacher dedicated to their success.

Children need to feel safe, cared for, and important at school. The children in my classroom know that I care about them, that I am interested in what is happening in their lives, that I want what is best for them, and that I am consistent and fair. This builds a community of trust and promotes a ‘family’ feel in the classroom. As a classroom community, I stress kindness, positivity, perseverance, and mutual respect. A smiling face and a listening ear are always ready for any of my students.

I believe in the inclusion of family in each student’s education. I create abundant and flexible opportunities for parents/guardians to help in the classroom. I strive for all parents to feel welcome and involved. I create a weekly newsletter, email parent lists, and am in constant contact with the families of my students. Parents are one of the most important resources in meeting the individual needs of each student and I value the input that parents share with me in regards to their child’s needs.

I believe students should feel excited about learning and school. The physical environment of the classroom should be organized, clean, stimulating, comfortable, curriculum-based and student made.  I love to tell students about something fun that they will be learning about the next day and we give compliments to our friends on a job well done for the day. If learning is fun and varied, students will be more engaged in the learning process.

When teaching,  I hold my students to high expectations. I provide clear objectives and use direct teaching to teach core concepts. I then provide a wide variety of learning activities that engage and challenge the students. Visual, hands-on, listening, tactile, and cooperative are some of the methods I use to make sure all children can learn. I love using songs, fingerplays, and stories in my classroom. All learning activities are student-centered and involve the students’ active participation. My goal is to make learning fun and interesting for all of my students!

I know that my philosophy of education will continue to grow and develop as a I continue my own personal research and development of what works best when teaching children. This is what makes teaching so fun. I love learning new things in regard to the field of education and I am determined to always do whatever it takes to be the best teacher I can be.