I believe the aims of schooling are to provide students with the knowledge and skills they need to improve their quality of life and live as prosocial members of their community. The purpose of education is to foster values such as honesty, fairness, civility and respect. Education also enables young people to reach their personal potential and develop emotional intelligence, self-awareness, motivation, empathy and social skills.

I believe successful schools achieve literacy in reading, writing, and computer skills. They help students learn to solve problems and think creatively and analytically, and most importantly, learn how to learn. Successful schools also contain strong leadership, employ teachers with high expectations, emphasize basic skills, contain an orderly school environment, and have a frequent, systematic evaluation of student learning so difficulties can be identified.

My role as a teacher is to facilitate learning. It is my responsibility to organize activities that engage all students, arouse interest in topics, help students grasp concepts and give them opportunities to apply ideas to their own lives. My role is to display care and good character through my words and actions, living according to the example set by Jesus Christ in the Bible, looking beyond my students’ surface behaviors and loving them as holistic beings who are made in the image of God. I do not identify students according to their “good” or “bad” behavior;every student, no matter their learning preferences or tendency to behave disruptively, has the ability and potential to learn. As a teacher I am called to provide for my students’ need for a sense of safety, belonging, freedom, power and fun. My task is to foster critical thinking, creativity, cultural awareness, respect, compassion, and love in my students, and I do this through leading by example.

My responsibility is also to inform and engage parents in their child’s learning. One way I will do this is by sending home monthly newsletters to parents, notifying them about what we have done in class, as well as uploading students’ progress onto an online platform that parents can easily access. In my classroom, I will emphasize that grades and assessment do not determine student worth but are simply a way to mark their progress. Formative assessment activities will make students more familiar with displaying their understanding of concepts and skills. Assessment activities will have clear outlines and rubrics available so that all students have an opportunity to do well.

Curriculum should be student centered – focused on developing and growing students – as well as subject centered – focused on helping students understand concepts. My goal is to develop the multi-faceted capacities and unique gifts of each student. Students will be given practical opportunities to incorporate their unique talents, such as drawing or public speaking, into classroom activities. Group projects will play a significant role in my curriculum; students will be encouraged to present their work in a way that is unique to themselves.

Learning occurs best within a social context and through an incorporation of varied teaching strategies. I emphasize group work, discussion, and student-guided learning. As a teacher, I am a mentor, model and coach for the students, with my main goal being to walk alongside students in their learning experiences and offering guidance where needed. My aim is to stimulate curiosity and wonder, asking deep questions and building a firm foundation for students’ lifelong learning journey. I value setting up desks and chairs in a way that makes discussion inevitable, introducing learning activities that allow students to work together to discover and grasp concepts, with the help of my questions and guidance.

My aim is to foster a classroom environment that is caring and inclusive to diverse learning preferences, cultures, abilities, talents and personalities. My goal is to create an atmosphere where students feel safe and like they have equal access to positive learning experiences. Desks will be arranged in a way that gives all students equal access to the front of the room. We will also have opportunities for guest speakers or field trips to give students exposure to different cultures and hands-on experience of the community and world around them. My students will learn that we need to respect the right of people who hold and assert ideals and traditions differing fundamentally to ours. To foster this, we will have hold classroom discussions about current world issues and how we can respond to each other’s opinions sensitively and respectfully.

Schooling is an exciting and life-changing time for every student, and as a teacher, it is an honor to be a part of impacting and shaping young people to grow in their social skills, develop strong character and thinking, and cultivate their unique abilities.