What is the most precious thing in the world?  Many people might say it’s gold, diamonds, or petroleum.  This is not what I think.  I believe the most precious thing, that should be protected and nurtured at all cost, is our children.  My philosophy of teaching stems from my view that adults are here to guide our children through life, and to teach them how to care for each other, be inquisitive, be creative and messy, and to grow up to be adults who are productive members of society capable of thinking for themselves. 

Why does society invest in public school? Because educated people are a benefit to society.  The students who are in my class will one day grow up to be carpenters, bankers, lawyers, politicians, etc. and will be making decisions that affect other people.  The more they learn throughout their schooling, the better decisions they will make as adults, which will benefit society.  I am sure many people will agree that people who search out answers for themselves, are more likely to be able to weed out misinformation. This is an especially important skill for adults and children to have these days because there is so much available information that is backed up by “data”.  Students need to learn to think critically; not everything on the internet is true!

Education should empower students, and show them they have the ability to think for themselves.  This is a requirement for living in a democratic society.  The people in the United States were never meant to be passive on lookers, they were meant to be the driving force behind elections and self-governance and laws.  The children of today are voters, members of society, and leaders of tomorrow! 

Education doesn’t come in one size that fits all.  We seem to be medicating kids so they can fit into the mold of “proper school behavior”.  I don’t think this does children justice because they are all so different. Every student in my class will be treated as a unique individual, because every students’ needs are different.  A classroom should have several ways for each student to learn, and a teacher should know that some individuals may need a little something extra; for example, a standing desk, or a yoga ball. They might possibly have to get up and move around periodically, or have a tactile substance to keep their hands occupied while the teacher is talking.  I believe it is a teachers job to find out what every student needs in order for them to learn the best.  I don’t want a student to miss out on learning something because I didn’t allow them the opportunity to learn it in a way they understand.  I believe it is a teacher’s job to tailor lessons for students, and not the other way around.  I feel that it’s wrong to penalize someone for being themselves.  It sends a message to children that they are the problem, and that there is something wrong with them.  This is not right, nor is it just.   

What happens when a child thinks that it is their fault that they can’t learn?  They start to believe they aren’t good enough, or just can’t “get it”.  This feeling about themselves is very hard to correct once a child establishes negative feelings about their abilities to learn.  Negative feelings can also stay with them for the rest of their lives!  I believe that a teacher is responsible for making sure students know everyone has different strengths and weaknesses, and that it is possible to learn something new from different situations and people.  Every student is unique, and should be treated that way. 

A teacher needs to be spontaneous, flexible, understanding, patient, and excited about teaching.  A spontaneous teacher is going to be able to switch gears if an educational opportunity presents itself.  If there is something students are excited to learn about, this should be explored (and the material to be taught should be interwoven into the new lesson) because they will be more likely to learn and remember the material.  Teaching when students are excited about something is also going to make children want to learn.  This makes instruction intrinsic; they want to learn for internal reasons, not because they are getting an external reward.  When teachers are excited about learning, it sends the message to students that the teacher cares and wants them to learn.  Learning IS exciting; the world is exciting, so teaching about this exciting and awesome world should be exciting too!

I believe that children shouldn’t compete with others in the class, but rather just compete with themselves.  I don’t want any child to have a feeling of hopelessness because they will never “be as good at math as Johnny” or never “be able to read and write as well as Sarah.”  This does not promote a healthy learning environment or positive community if children are more focused on social pressures or feeling inadequate than learning.  Children should compete with themselves, because that is how they will develop a positive self-concept, and when they feel good they will be able to learn better.  Being worried about keeping up with other students takes the focus off of learning and puts the focus on competing, which is the problem with evaluation based on standards. 

The classroom environment is so important.  I want every child to walk in the door and feel that they are appreciated and loved for who they are.  When children feel safe in their environment, they are going to be able to concentrate fully on what is being taught and learn better.  I contend that no child is bad, only their behavior is bad or inappropriate.  I believe children are inherently good, and human life has the highest value possible.  I also feel that is important to have children learn things on their own terms.  When students learn from their own discovery, it will enable them to process and remember information better because they will own the information, and incredibly, each of them will own it differently. 

I believe that students are much more observant and intuitive than adults think.  Children often have a lot of emotions, yet not the linguistic ability to express them.   Kids often have great ideas about how to solve problems because they don’t put limitations on themselves that adults do. The great Dr. Seuss said it best, “a person’s a person no matter how small”.  These are words I will live by while teaching, because children are the most precious things in the world.