Philosophy

I believe that every student can learn when given the opportunity and encouragement to do so.  My role as a teacher is to facilitate learning, not control it.  In an effort to facilitate learning, I will strive to establish working relationships with my students by modeling respect and appropriate social skills, by setting high expectations, and by creating a warm and welcoming classroom environment.  One of the major aspects of my role as a facilitator is to help empower students to have ownership of their own education and learning.  This is accomplished by giving students options and learning opportunities that showcase and utilize their strengths and by leading a student focused classroom based on individual and group needs. Students all learn differently which is why is it important to practice differentiation and to be aware of the strengths and talents that each student has to offer to the class.  I wish to capitalize on individual strengths while engaging the whole class in learning.  I will try to accomplish this goal by leading different learning activities and projects and by using Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligence Theory to vary my lesson planning.  In all things, I want to encourage and support my students as they grow as scholars and as individuals.

Do not train children to learning by force and harshness, but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each." --Plato