I am almost complete in my journey to becoming a teacher, but I am sure that my learning will always continue. I will join the ranks of numerous women for several generations in my family who have served as teachers. I say ‘served’ because to teach is to sign on to an often thankless and selfless, yet noble task. I hope to serve as a guide in student-centered learning. I hope to provide my students the resources they need to build critical thinking skills and to help them strive to be life-long learners. Being able to embrace a variety of learning styles and recognizing my students’ unique learning abilities and strategies is my goal. I believe that learning is a life-long process and I acknowledge that I want to learn much more from my students than they will learn from me.
Successful teaching happens when students feel safe and accepted for who they are and where they are in their educational journey. Effective learning requires a working collaboration between teachers, students, and parents or guardians that incorporates trust and respect. Although some tough lessons teach us the most, I believe learning is better embraced in a comfortable environment where laughter and fun are welcome. I hope to help my students learn by relating their learning material to meaningful experiences that includes family, friends, and culture.
Someone once told me that those who can do and those who can’t teach. Those words stung long after they were spoke and I almost allowed them to force me to abandon the teaching profession altogether. Instead, I now shun that statement. To teach is to embrace so many professions all at once that I dare say not many people are actually suited to it. I have learned much from the teachers that I have admired. Some of these successful teaching traits include flexibility, the ability to differentiate, creativity, a willingness to learn, compassion, and kindness among others. I am sure that as the years pass in my teaching career this philosophy will change shape and be added upon but I will end it here with a quote that is quite meaningful to me:
Great teachers empathize with kids, respect them, and believe that each one has something special that can be built upon. –Ann Lieberman