my teaching philosophy
From my two years of experience teaching middle schoolers in Orlando, Florida, my philosophy of teaching has come to revolve around three core beliefs: 1. Communication is essential. Teachers must initiate and maintain positive and open dialogue with parents. Teachers must also effectively communicate with students-conveying expectations and respectfully delivering constructive feedback and words of encouragement. 2. Lessons and activities must allow students to make choices and respond creatively. Because each child is unique and approaches a situation or assignment with a different understanding and ability level, I believe in differentiated assignments. Students can choose how to sequence activities, structure an assignment, or use a problem-solving approach. Of course performance standards are the same for all students, but differentiated lessons allow students to meet these standards in a variety of ways. Even small choices give students a sense of power and respect. This motivates students to take a more active role in learning. 3. Class content must be tied to the students' interests. I believe in relating concepts taught to whatever it is in culture students are currently familiar with and interested in. When students make connections between class content and what they already know, they are more likely to take and interest in and remember the information. Overall, I would classify my teaching philosophy as realist and pragmatic; I believe in communication, structure, clear expectations, and giving students an active role in their education.