My Teaching Philosophy

As a teacher, my focus is on educating the whole child as a developing individual, as I consider myself a lifelong student of human development. In addition, I will always be a student of my students, and a lifelong learner who seeks to improve her teaching practice. I hope to sustain a concentrated focus on developmentally appropriate and engaging teaching over time. One of the keys to my teaching philosophy is the practice of mindfulness in the classroom. I believe that in today’s busy world, we can all benefit from taking time to refocus ourselves and be fully present in the moment. I hope to create a classroom environment where mindful, joyful teaching and learning happen every day. I will create and support this environment through reinforcing, reminding, and redirecting language that affirms my confidence in student potential. I will also endeavor to create an environment where students have choice and voice in how they showcase their learning. Our classroom will be self-reflective and growth-oriented, so that students get to know themselves and their learning needs.

I feel that it is my responsibility as a teacher to create a classroom environment where discourse is the norm and all students feel valued and respected. To accomplish our individual and whole class goals, I will design classroom structures that encourage student voices and collaboration. By preparing in advance and practicing self care, I will endeavor to be fully present and engaged with my students throughout the school day and during additional school activities. I will also encourage my students to practice self-reflection and self care. This year, the MAT program asked each of us to be “generous and compassionate with ourselves and with others”, and I will invite my own students to do the same. Clear and consistent expectations will be a hallmark of our classroom, and students will set expectations for themselves as well as for our class as a whole.  Together, we will celebrate hard work and take on new challenges to become the best class that we can be.