Teaching Philosophy

It is an undeniable right that every child should receive a quality education, despite where they live, who their parents are, the color of their skin, or the amount of money their family has. I believe that each child only has one shot at education, and too many times, students are being cheated out of their learning opportunities. It is up to teachers, schools, communities, and families to be sure that students are ensured the right to a quality education so as to pursue careers and higher educational opportunities in their future.

As an educator, it is my passion to reach out to students whom others may have already given up on. It is my goal to educate every child who enters my classroom, despite where they come from and their individual characteristics. It is too often in urban schools that students are assumed unable to learn, or disinterested. However, if we take a deeper look as to what drives individual students, what makes them who they are; we open up the doors of opportunity. I believe that it is a teacher’s duty to create a safe learning environment in which every child may feel safe and comfortable to learn and be a part of a supportive community. Student’s unique characteristics, or as I have recently learned, their culture of achievement, offers teachers endless tools and resources to be used as teachable moments rather than areas of challenged diversity. To create a classroom where diversity is recognized and curriculum is created around such, offers students with real life lessons and a new open-minded view of the world we can only hope to spread throughout society. If teachers can create such a community, where students feel respected and supported, children will be set up for success rather than failure.

I knew at a young age I wanted to become a teacher. The idea of educating young people, while speaking in front of a class, assigning homework, and receiving hugs on a daily basis is what appealed to me. My idea of an educator in the classroom has drastically changed since I was ten years old. I see teachers, especially in urban settings, as ambassadors for learning. Teachers are the force behind the movement to provide every student with a quality education, and therefore the tools they need to become a functioning member of society with unlimited opportunities ahead. It is throughout my higher education that I realized that teachers are much more than lecturers and the assigners of homework. I recognize that teachers are becoming more and more a part of the social justice movement that is sweeping the nation, and I am eager to be a part of such.

As I continue my work with AUSL in my resident year, I continue to develop goals and ideologies to apply to my own classroom. My classroom will be a special learning community in which every student is respected and supported. Students will be excited to come to my classroom everyday to be a part of the newest adventure the class will be partaking in. I hope to create as many connections to my student’s lives and interests into the curriculum as possible. I will set my standards and expectations high, and the students will be held accountable for their progress in their education. It is my goal to have every child meet the standards and exceed by the end of the school year. I will be an ambassador for learning for every one of my students.