Mission - Why?

             I am an educational professional because I believe that each student has something unique our world needs, I want to make each day a positive experience for my students, and I believe that students need the essential life and career skills that my curriculum introduces.  First of all, we know that all students are unique and as a teacher it is my job to make sure that they continue to explore, discover, and stay excited about the possibilities they have to offer our world.  I recently had the opportunity to listen to Angela Mierers speak about “Liberating Genius.” The overall philosophy is, “when people believe they are needed to perform - they will perform at a genius level.” As an educator I need to have my students "show me their awesome" – and put value and language to it.  I should help them notice it, value it, and expect it. I want to make sure that all students realize they are needed in our world and community.  It is my job to make sure that we are finding ways for each student to “be awesome.”

        Secondly, school should be a positive experience for students, and teachers play a crucial part in making that happen.  Learning is easier if you enjoy what you are doing and the atmosphere is a safe, positive place. A positive classroom climate is the key to my classroom management, project completion, and overall student success.  Every student deserves to be treated with respect in order to have a great experience.  To do this, we have an “awesome” rubric that we try to follow.  It helps us build our community in class and know that we can work with partners and be successful with teamwork.  We specifically role play and practice our positive “awesome” skills before we begin our other curriculum because these skills are such an integral part of life success. Our rubric includes “awesome” guidelines for work ethic, productivity, initiative, respectful speech, positive attitude, technology guidelines, and overall safety.

     Finally, I love what I teach!  I am a Family and Consumer Sciences teacher.  This class is designed to allow students to use technology to explore and learn life skills that are essential for success in school, career, and family life. The class focuses on 21st Century skills each day, allowing students to practice Life and Career Skills that are required in today’s work and family environments. Skills such as working effectively with others, productivity, accountability, self-direction, and leadership are integrated in each lesson.  Each unit focuses on essential life skills such as: money management, nutrition, food preparation, family relationships, issues facing teens, child development/care/safety, health and wellness, consumer skills,  textiles and clothing, and career exploration.           

Projects involve:  food safety, nutrition evaluation, preparing recipes, menu planning, budgets, bank accounts, loans, investments, credit cards,  textiles and clothing care,  children’s stories, and career exploration.  Our final project is our  Guest Day Open House. This culminating project allows students to demonstrate their Career Ready skills of teamwork, communicating effectively,  professional etiquette,  and creativity. Overall, the establishment of a positive classroom that establishes trust, safety, and consistency will facilitate an environment in which students can participate in learning activities and develop the social skills necessary to be successful in school, career, and family life.