I believe that a quality education includes recognizing and relying on a child’s existing skills and strengths, as well as providing the opportunity to learn and enhance new skills. Children learn in many different ways. Not all children will have the same strengths, but every child will be good at something. The best kind of curriculum is one that finds a way to include all children, perhaps drawing on the strengths of one or more children to help another. It is the responsibility of the classroom teacher to teach not only math and science but day to day issues such as recycling and the importance of getting involved in the community. I believe that students are more motivated to learn when the topic in question is one that interests them, but it is my job as classroom teacher to find a way to engage all children in all areas of the curriculum. As a teacher, I listen to students and work with them, in order to create a classroom environment that is cooperative. It is my job to provide stability and consistency in a classroom where all children feel as their voices are being heard. Learning cannot be measured in only one form. Children are not all the same, and therefore it is irresponsible to assume that one form of assessment is adequate to measure a classroom’s, or a school’s, academic abilities. It is necessary to have multiple ways of measuring learning and it is essential to consider the whole child when doing so. In my classroom, assessments will come in the form of projects and exams, group and individual work, presentations and written reports. A child's home life greatly affects his/her day at school and I will take that into consideration when greeting and approaching every child as they enter my classroom each day. |