Tiffany Washington-twash035@odu.edu

Who I Am

I am a 27 year old female from Afton, VA that loves to craft and spoils her godchildren. As a child I was always making something to decorate with or hang up. Being from the mountains I always had access to nature. I am always gathering supplies from the outdoors to what I believe would make an awesome craft. I was never one of those kids who liked school until fourth grade. My fourth grade history teacher taught us in a way that really caught my eye, crafting. She would give us assignments and we had to demonstrate what we knew by creating a model or picture. Mrs. Hyde may not have realized it then but she influenced me to become a teacher and teach the same way she had.

What I know

I know that the world is not always accepting of others who are not like them. From birth I belonged to two different communities and I know that both don't always accept the other. I can teach my classmates to care for others and accept them for as who they are as a person and not on what they were born into. As for my students, I would also teach them that as well as to form their own opinions of people themselves and to now follow the crowd.

What I have to learn

I believe I still need to learn about all cultural backgrounds to become an effective teacher. I will grow as a person if I start looking at the world with a more open mind. I will have students who come from all different backgrounds so I strive to have the classroom that accepts all cultural backgrounds and forms to them. Making the classroom a safe space and where it is not a one track mind.

The teacher I will become

I believe the purpose of school it to provide knowledge to students and help them prepare for their futures. One of the most important aspects a student should learn is to be open minded. They will learn to be open minded but accepting those for who they are and listening to what others have to say. As a teacher my educational philosophies that describes my view on teaching would be progressivism. One word to describe me as a teacher would be a conductor and my students would the the passengers. My job and goal is to get my students on a track to success and help them along the way. Walking into my classroom you would see students working together with hands on activities and experiences in order to solve the problems.

Comments

I love your conductor/passenger analogy! I agree that keeping everyone on track (Including yourself) with classroom management skills Is a great skill to have and necessary to help everyone achieve. -Amanda Henson

I liked that you plan to teach your students to accept everyone for who they are. I also agree that as teachers, we are preparing these children for their futures and it is so important to do the best we can to help the succeed. -Mikayla Harrison

I love how you are all about inclusivity. Our students come from all different walks of life, but the family they are born into should not define their character. We as teachers play a massive role in their lives so it is important we make each and every one of them feel valued. -Andrew

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