Philosophy of Education

“Both you and Mrs. Beauregard have made me so much happier to write. Last year writing became so boring and lame...I hated it. I have loved writing so much in the past and I am elated to finally be back to loving it! Thanks for helping me come back around.” -Sophomore Student, April 26, 2016

The above quote came from one of my sophomore students during my student teaching at Bozeman High School.  I finished the internship before his satirical paper was due, so I emailed him later to ask how it went.  What he said is what makes teaching magical.  It isn’t the satisfaction of having a student score advanced proficient on a writing assessment; it’s the fact that he experienced a change within himself.  I believe in the teaching of individuals, not just the teaching of English, and though I will hold the title of teacher one day, classroom achievement will happen in spite of me not because of me. Knowing this to be true, I still have a responsibility to create and maintain a classroom culture that facilitates positive and authentic learning experiences for my students and the opportunity for them to experience a change toward greater self-efficacy.  Assessment, therefore, should reflect a growth mindset - meaning that perfection should not be expected on the first try, and efforts toward improvement should be awarded.  If a student is willing to revise a paper to earn a better grade, I want to honor and encourage that effort by giving back points.

            My priority is to create a community of learners who respect one another’s values and beliefs and actively engage with one another.  Students and I together can achieve this through interpersonal dialogue, whole class and small group discussion, writing projects, and relevance in what they are asked to do.  In Montana, many students go through their entire school lives together having the unique opportunity to know one another very well.  A level of intimacy such as this lends itself well to developing loyalty, accountability, motivation, and healthy competition among classmates.  I see myself as a multilateral facilitator of learning – teacher to students, students to teacher, students to students. 

            I value creativity, fun, and an affective response to knowledge because those are the components of authentic learning.   On the middle school level, cultivating a sincere love for learning is paramount to students’ success in the long run.  As I get to know my students, learning plans will be differentiated and customized to their individual and communal interests so that they will walk away from my class having learned something, or better, having considered a new way of thinking and communicating.  I use the word learning plan as opposed to lesson plan because my goal is to pose questions and provide tools that challenge students to think critically.  My intent is to amplify their innate abilities to learn in ways

they themselves can recognize and value, and for even the seemingly least motivated student to have an aha moment (or several!). 

My job is to set the tone for a safe space to think, create, and share, so that we may learn together.   Education is, after all, a collaborative and communal triumph.  I cannot wait to teach and, even more, to learn from students how to better differentiate instruction, manage classroom procedures, and individualize instruction for everyone’s greatest benefit.