Andrea Banschenbach

I am an elementary education major who has come back to school after being away for many years. I am a mother to two amazing kiddos as well a few cats and dogs. I am originally from Ohio, then I moved to West Virginia when I was 10 and lived there for a few years until we moved to Virginia Beach. I love being active and outdoors, but I hate the cold, and mosquitos. My family is everything, and I love building new memories with them.

I know that I am who I am today because of my experiences. I know that having diverse interests, trying new things, and exploring new areas will help to make you a stronger and more well rounded individual. I know that taking a genuine interest in my students and their future paths will inspire them to do their best. I know that life is hard, but we can do it. I know that you are capable of much more than you think, and many times in life you will be tested and you will surprise yourself with how much you can handle.

While I know I still have much to learn I believe the most crucial obstacle is classroom management. I know that I will have to set clear and consistent expectations and engaging instruction. I want to be able to do that along with creating a positive safe place for my students. I also still need to learn how to create lesson plans, I have had very little experience thus far. I also know I will need to learn to navigate the curriculum and be more efficient with some of the new applications teachers use on a daily basis. It seems daunting, but I am excited to learn.

I see myself as a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd grade teacher with a progressive education philosophy. I see my classroom as being warm and inviting.  I envision my classroom walls decorated with student work, I see charts and posters reflecting the current area of content we are learning about. I see a cozy area with a rug in the library. Another area contains a space well suited for collaboration. I see myself sitting among or walking around and guiding my students. In my classroom all of my students feel included and important. My students know they have a safe space to express their ideas and concerns. I picture my classroom as one that welcomes collaboration, one that invites and welcomes new ideas, responsibility, and a true feeling of belonging. By fostering a progressive educational style my students will practice active learning, there will be different centers to help engage my students with what we are currently discussing. I want to learn what’s important to my students so I can include it in the classroom. My students will share what’s important to them and also learn from their peers. This collaboration will help them explore new ideas and interests. They will apply their interests to the real world, perhaps exploring career ideas they hadn’t thought of before. Most importantly I want my students to truly know how much I care about them and how invested I am in their future. I hope by creating this environment my students will love to learn and explore and hopefully never stop doing so.

I used AI to create the following image with Bing Image Creator. Ideally, as someone who embraces the progressive teaching philosophy, I would be able to teach students through real world experiences.  I would love to be able to teach some lessons outside, creating a more meaningful lesson where the students could directly engage with the environment. I think breaking away from a more traditional teaching approach would promote a more calm, relaxed, and inclusive setting.