My Strengths

During a Professional Development, I was given the opportunity to discover my personality strengths and how they relate to my teaching through a Strengths Finder survey. Some of my top strengths are listed below with their relevance to how they help me meet the needs of my students on all levels.

• Connectedness - I see no boundaries to the education I can provide. I look for opportunities to share and express my global perspective in the classroom and out of it. My efforts lead to a more effective and humane global citizenship as well as helping students understand their role in a world beyond what they see everyday. I don’t see students as simply minds that must be filled with worksheets. I believe in the integration and interaction of mind, emotions, relationships, society, and culture.

• Individualization - Good teaching is not just knowledge of the curriculum but an understanding of each student. I do my best to tailor my teaching style to accommodate one student’s need to be shown and another’s desire to “figure it out as I go”. I understand that one size does not fit all. The approach I take to teaching will depend on each student; it is not necessarily easier or more efficient than standardization, but it’s the best way I can help students learn. I am an observer of personal strengths and that allows me the opportunity to bring out the best in each student.

• Relator - My relationships with friends, colleagues, and students are genuine and not superficial. It is important that I have one-on-one time with my students so that I will get to know them. I want to understand their feelings, their goals, their fears, and their dreams; and I want them to understand mine.

• Communication - Words and the way they are used are very important to me. I don’t want to talk TO people; I want to talk WITH people. This is enormously valuable in the classroom. I hope to take a dry idea and enliven it with images, examples, and metaphors. I instinctively understand that a bored student is not growing, learning, or achieving and therefore I will quickly adjust my lesson accordingly. Communication comes to life during read-alouds and storytelling comes natural to me at the appropriate times.

“The eyes may be windows to the soul, but stories are the highways to understanding” Teach with your Strengths