When I signed up for the Bachelor of Education program at Mount Royal University, that was just one of many stepping stones in my journey as an educator. Through talking with my grandmother, an ardent, passionate teacher, or observing my mother as she taught piano to children, I have known that teaching was what I needed to do since a young age. I knew that if I wanted to see a change in how students were learning, my duty was to roll up my sleeves and begin the change myself. 

My primary and secondary school memories are filled with exams, worksheets, writing notes from the whiteboard, and reading textbooks. My teachers told me that school work cannot get done unless the classroom is quiet, with all students keeping to themselves. I was scared to ask questions, as the interruption may lead me to miss out on valuable information. My instruction was teacher-centric, leaving me no time to ponder or wonder. I found out quite early that this was not how I learned. As alone as I felt in this, I know now that I was not the only student in my classrooms that felt this way. 

My school experience is why my philosophy as an educator is deeply rooted in inquiry-based learning. I believe that the students must run the classroom, with the teacher acting as a facilitator. Education must focus on the HOW rather than the WHAT; a good teacher is not somebody who tells children, "this is what we know; write it down, so you remember it." Instead, a teacher gets their students to ask themselves questions. "Why do we know this? and how did this idea or theory come to be?". As an educator, I want my students to be responsible for building their knowledge through active engagement in my classroom. 

I will bring WONDER back to LEARNING :)

As I progress through the Bachelor of Education program, I continue to grow as an educator. More specifically, I continue picking up precious insights into what factors constitute an excellent English Language Arts program. Literacy is expansive; teachers can incorporate it in every area of study imaginable. I believe that every great lesson begins with a solid piece of text, and the more an educator exposes their students to these formats, the stronger and more confident they will feel with their reading skills. A good text paired with a teacher's academic knowledge of the ELA Program of Study ensures a powerful ELA program for all learners. 

To foster life-long reading, I will be sure to teach my students the six traits of writing; voice, sentence fluency, word choice, ideas, organization, and conventions. As I teach each of these traits, I will encourage students to ask plenty of questions and engage in self-reflection and self-assessment to determine where they are in relation to their goals. Alongside the six traits of writing, I will educate my students on the five stages of spelling development. Reading skills and writing skills develop together; therefore, both are just as vital as the other. I will use a fantastic resource to teach spelling development; Words Their Way by Donald R. Bear. 

One key component that I stand behind is fair and frequent assessment. I will guarantee this through the use of running records and the Fountas & Pinnell reading level system. Conferencing with each reader one-on-one while they read and a teacher assesses is critical. A running record allows educators to get an idea of where each reader is and for readers to know their strengths and what areas need a little more time. 

Lastly, I believe that comprehension is an essential aspect of reading. Although a student can read, they may not always know what they are reading about or the purpose behind a text. To foster comprehension, one strategy that I will use is exit slips. At the end of a reading or a lesson, students will reflect on their learning, perhaps leaving behind a few questions for further instruction. Not only are exit slips an excellent assessment tool for teachers, but they also help students solidify what they have just learned. 

To conclude, I believe that a quality ELA program comes down to willing and knowledgeable educators. To ensure that I am the best I can be, I have set many goals for myself. I strive to interact with other future educators in my program, ask my professors for further resources to broaden my learning, and closely observe and listen to my mentor teachers. This eagerness for professional development shows that I want to grow to create the best readers and writers possible. 

As a teacher, I believe my philosophy lines up with Progressivism and Social Reconstructionism. These philosophies enable students to develop useful problem-solving skills, as well as provide a safe environment for students to learn and discuss important issues in an ever-changing world. The ability to solve problems individually and the openness to speak one's mind on topics relating to personal passions will allow children to build character and independence that will guide them throughout their future. 

A teacher's pedagogy must place a strong emphasis on the acquisition of necessary life skills and a deep-rooted foundation of knowledge to prepare students for the workforce. To prepare students for the workforce, learning must be active and collaborative. Hands-on group projects not only allow students to see what they have built; it also effectively reinforces critical social skills. The children that my generation will teach will grow up to be the next world leaders, politicians, business owners, and social workers. Future students will pursue careers in a world that is more rapidly placing importance on social issues relating to individuality and inclusiveness. Therefore learning plans must equally promote physical, emotional, and cognitive growth.

A teacher's job is not to force a certain belief system upon their students or tell them what career path to choose when they grow older. A teacher's job is to provide their students with the foundational skills and knowledge that they will need in order to find their own passion and become who they want to be in the future. 

Children only become wise if those who teach them provide them with the necessary rudiments to grow this way. Once the necessary knowledge and skills are provided, teachers must stand back and allow their students to let their cognitive growth help them flourish in their own unique ways. A useful metaphor for a teacher would be a patient and professional gardener. A gardener cultivates the land, ridding it of weeds and pests that may obstruct its growth. A gardener then makes sure that the climate in which the growth will occur is the correct one for the job. The seeds are then planted, nourished and allowed to grow. Teachers do the same thing for their students. They create an open-minded environment that is perfect for learning, ridding the classroom of anything that may be harmful or detrimental to an individual student's growth or the companionship of a classroom as a whole. Teachers then plant the seeds of knowledge into the malleable minds of the students. After the teacher follows these steps, they stand back and allow the growth to happen. In this process, every seed is different and will grow into something vibrant and unique.