According the Rita Pierson, “every child deserves a champion, an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection, and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be” (TEDTalks, 2013).
My Teaching Philosophy
My philosophy is to be a reflective and engaging educator, who embraces diversity by creating an inclusive classroom through the creation of innovative and well-balanced lesson plans that are grounded in the objectives of the Revised British Columbia Curriculum. My intention is to form meaningful relationships with my students to identify their needs and learning styles so that I can integrate multimodal instructions and adaptations that encourage and facilitate learning for all of my students. Furthermore, I believe that it is essential to recognize their funds of knowledge and their learning contexts as they are all special and will have something valuable to contribute to the group.
Human connections are of utmost importance to one’s wellbeing. Through ongoing professional development I intend to continue growing as a teacher by learning about and integrating inquiry and imaginative education into my classroom to develop my students to foster curiosity, critical thinking skills and independence. I want my students to be able to connect the course material to their own lives and to critically analyze what they are learning. My hope is that they will simultaneously learn more about themselves, their interests and their community. I believe that this will instill confidence in my students as it will empower them to believe in themselves while concurrently opening themselves up to the possibilities that the world has to offer them.
Ultimately, my goal is to create a student-centered classroom that is nurturing, experiential and deeply rooted in the principles of Social and Emotional Learning. Every student has a voice, and as an educator, it is my responsibility to help them find it by creating a safe and caring environment where they feel valued and connected. Through the incorporation of cooperative learning, it is my strong belief that students will develop skills that will be transferable beyond the scope of the classroom, which will inspire creativity, a deep love for lifelong learning and their own strong and persuasive voice.
I am deeply passionate about teaching because I am child at heart and I enjoy teaching and learning from my students through play. I believe that along with maintaining structure in the classroom, children learn best when they are given the opportunity to explore new ideas in a play-based environment. Learning in this manner, affords students the freedom to make mistakes and to learn from them without constantly worrying about being judged. This form of learning will internally motivate children to further develop their skills and live up to their fullest potential.
References
TEDTalks. (2013). TEDTalks – Rita Pierson – every kid needs a champion. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFnMTHhKdkw
