Who am I as a teacher?
As the teacher in my classroom, I am the creator of a safe and positive environment. I have the ability to create a space for all children to thrive. I believe that teachers and students learn from each other, and that the students are not just learning from the teacher. When students walk into my classroom, I want them to feel calm and excited to learn. I am still learning about myself and who I am as a teacher. I have strong values and I am learning how to express these values to my students and to our classroom community. The readings from class, our discussions with our MAT cohort, and my experiences in my first grade classroom, have begun to work together to shape my philosophy of teaching.
Creating a Classroom Community
Having a strong sense of community is one of my top priorities in teaching. My classroom should feel like a second family to my students. Students should feel safe; they should feel like they belong the second they enter my classroom. To create this, a strong routine is needed in the classroom. Every morning, when the students walk in, they should know exactly what their responsibility is. During the morning meeting, which is done every day no matter what, we go over what we will be doing that day. We have certain rituals like counting the days in school and doing a word of the day, that bring the class together. Students will also take turns to share personal stories during this morning meeting time. These small moments of sharing give students the ability to share a little bit more to the class, and to me. I cherish these moments because they bring a class together, and students get to interact with each other outside of the instruction time. These repeated rituals create a sense of belonging and identity, which is so important in creating a safe community.
Teaching Diverse Learners
One of my other top priorities is committing to teaching my diverse learners. I am aware that each student comes into my classroom with a different set of skills and ability to learn. With every lesson that I plan, I am always thinking of ways to scaffold my lessons so that each student is able to learn to their best ability. I will always provide sentence starters, word banks, manipulatives for math, translations for English language learners, provide visuals, and more. I commit to finding ways for my students to access the content I am teaching. I work hard to make sure my students are engaged, and not confused or bored of the lesson. Finding ways for varying students to access the content is something I work very hard to do.
High Expectations and Independence
Like I have stated previously, each one of my students has the ability to thrive in my classroom. Students will learn how much they are capable of, and what they can do on their own. I have extremely high expectations of my students, and I know all of the amazing things that they are capable of. My students know this, because I commonly praise them for all of their hard work. I am there for my students, and I do not let anything they do go unnoticed. For example, I ask questions to my students during read alouds where they have to explain why they think what they do. I am constantly asking them to think deeper, and not just give the short answer. In math, I ask my students to explain their thinking and to work independently because I know what they are capable of. I find that students are often rushing to get work done so it can be completed. I will go over to my students that I am not looking for them to rush through the work, I am looking for quality work. I believe in teaching independence to my students, which gives students confidence in their skills. Once students realize all that they are capable of, they are confident to try things on their own. I keep high expectations of my students so they know that the work we do is very meaningful, and I teach them independence through these high expectations.
Celebrating Languages, Races, Cultures
I believe in celebrating all of my students. I want all of my students to feel proud of their identity. I plan on celebrating my students, and the parts of my students that make them unique. I want to make sure my students know that I care about them, and that we all care about each other in our classroom community. My students should be proud of their race, gender, the languages they speak, their religion, traditions, culture, hair, their style, and more. There is so much that makes up our identities. I make sure to remember what my students tell me, and to ask about holidays and traditions that mean something to them. I strive to highlight my student’s identities through weaving them into our lessons. For example, finding countries on the map where my students are from around the world and zooming in. Celebrating our identities, and not dismissing identities, is key to my teaching philosophy.