The Classroom

My personal teaching philosophy acknowledges:

1. The importance of learning as a continuous process – every day every person in my class (including me) should be given the opportunity to learn something. It is essential that my students understand that I do not have all the answers and that I question things and take the time to find out more information every chance I can get. I also believe that what students learn doesn’t necessarily have to be a part of the curriculum. If a question comes up that is related to something entirely random, time should be taken to acknowledge the question and seek an answer at an appropriate time. Often so much more learning takes place after the curriculum “stuff” has been covered so taking the time to question things is important to get the full experience being a learner.

2. Education should take place in a supported, dynamic & flexible way – to me this means getting to know how each student learns best. It includes using multimodal resources, individual, small and large group work, modifying and altering tasks to ensure achievable outcomes. It also means making time to have open discussions about learning, education and life. It’s about taking the time to get to know each individual student so when unpredictable things happen I am prepared with a variety of options to address the situation. It is about being transparent about everything so that students do not have to “guess” what I expect from them. It is about consistency and being the same person every day. Many students do not have stable situations at home so school, especially my classroom, should always be a predictable place for them to come - when they enter my classroom I want my students to feel as though they are in a “normal” environment. It’s about being honest and trustworthy and doing the things I say I will do.  It’s about explaining choices and options and consequences and creating an environment of equality and acceptance. 

3. Bring the World to the classroom – each individual’s scope of the world is unique. Some students have been all over the world, others have never left the city they were born in. Neither one is more nor less “knowledgeable” than the other  - each just has a difference view of the world. For me, an essential part of preparing students for the world beyond the classroom, is acquainting them with that world. Through personal experiences, sharing stories, understanding media, talking about current events, accessing social networking tools and discussing life at home and far away, students get a broader sense of their own identity and how they fit and exist within a world where they are have the potential to be global citizens.