I believe that the purpose of education is to prepare students and individuals to be productive members of society, to gain the appropriate skills necessary to advance themselves through the education system, to eventually hold a job in which they can support themselves, and pursue their dreams and live a life that they find satisfying.  The role of a teacher is to guide students in their journey of education and to encourage and inspire students to be excited and enthusiastic about learning.

            I believe that students should play an active role in their education; teachers should simply be a guide to aiding the child’s natural curiosity and desire to learn. I believe if teachers give their students the correct tools and genuine encouragement, every student can be reached and can learn.

            I believe that all children are capable of learning. I believe that if a child is not learning it is the fault of the teacher and the tools the child has been given, not the fault of the child. It is the responsibility of the teacher to empower students with the tools that each individual child requires to learn at their best.

            With regard to management and instructional strategies, I believe that classroom environments needs to inspire children to learn but also offer enough structure in which to do so. Children, in order to have an environment that is safe to learn and grow, must have guidelines of how to treat one another and act respectfully towards one another. I think that classrooms should have students act as each other’s teachers, allow students to create the rules and demonstrate to each other how to respectfully act. If students are not following the guidelines, not respecting each other, or respecting classroom property, it is the teacher’s responsibility to step in and assist in the learning process. I believe that every time a child misbehaves is a learning opportunity for them.

            My goals for students are that they have an enthusiasm for learning and a genuine love for school. My goal is that students have a vested interest in the material they are learning. My goal is that all students can gain the skills necessary to be independent learners and people and to be responsible for their own actions.

            In order to bring a global awareness to my classroom, I would make it a priority to diversify the reading materials to incorporate stories from all different countries and cultures. I would make it a point that many languages be incorporated into times of the classroom, like morning meetings and in the books around the classroom. I believe that each child’s background should be represented in our classroom and that all students who speak another language or languages should be encouraged to speak, write, and read in those languages as well.

            I would hope to have a very open and community-like classroom. Parents, grandparents, guardians, siblings should be welcome to be a part of the learning. It would be important that families be on board with all the learning that goes on in the classroom. I believe that teachers hold one of the greatest responsibilities towards children; to foster a love of learning and to give them the tools to be life-long learners.