EDUCATION AS I SEE IT...
As a child I grew up knowing many people who were not college graduates and even high school dropouts. But to me these people were the smartest people in the world. This was the beginning of my love for education. As I got older I was able to understand that not all people graduated from high school or even went to college, but these people were still productive citizens and that is what education means to me. Education is the key people need to open doors for them in life. The knowledge we obtain can never be taken away from us. My philosophy is school is the place that prepares you for the rest of your life.
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As an educator I know that all students can learn. Not matter what age, level, or socioeconomic background a student will be able to learn. From my upbringing I am able to see the knowledge in everyone. Everyone may not go on to study calculus and trigonometry but he or she may still know how to balance a checkbook or give the proper change. As an educator it is my responsibility to dig deeper and go further than just teaching on the surface. I have to ensure that when my students leave my classroom they are prepared for what life will have in store for them. During my first year of teaching I worked as a transition specialist, this allowed me to work on life skills that my students needed to possess. From that experience I was able to understand that even though my students would not be entering into a traditional university they would be entering into adulthood. As an educator it was my responsibility to show them how to be productive in their life. As a leader I exposed them to individuals who were deemed successful and not only by academic standards.
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No matter what we experience in life we are only given twenty-four hours a day. At the end of those twenty-four hours a new day begins. As an educator I like to think of teaching in that same manner. There are days you may encounter different hardships, but as a teacher you are to press the restart button at the end of the day. Each day is a new day for me, I don’t hold on to the couldn’t do’s of yesterday. The whiteboard is cleaned everyday and everyday we rewrite the story of what today will be. There are often times where I will cover a lesson with my students and everyone in class will have the knowledge of what I taught at the wrap up. When I get in the next day and do a mini review it as if they have never seen it before. At that time I just began to reteach and ensure my students are getting the knowledge this time. I have learned that I cannot hold on to the things that occurred yesterday, I have to teach for that moment and give it my all.
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In life we must constantly grow and with that growth comes about changes. My classroom is place where children are constantly changing so as a teacher I must change as well. I never want to get into a set routine that does not allow for movement and flexibility. With every lesson, concept, or strategy I teach I seek out what is best for my students. Even if it may be something I am not use to as a teacher I must grow with the times. I must be willing to learn a new way and change things that may not work best for me. In my classroom we are able to make the change from being teacher centered to student centered.
