My Teaching Philosophy

“You must love children if you are a teacher.”

I used to think that this notion was silly and that, “no I did not love children. I just loved teaching.”

But I was completely wrong. In order to be a great teacher — in the classroom or in the home — you must start with a love of children. You must be able to recognize that they need you and rely on you to guide them and provide them with the skills necessary to thrive in the adult world.

If we fail them, we fail society as a whole. This notion has helped shape my values as a teacher and what I strive to provide for my students every day. With this in mind, I developed my five core values.

Every lesson I teach and product I design has these values in mind.

My Values:

• Prepare students to be literate adults.

• Grow student confidence in independent reading, writing, and thinking.

• Encourage risk-taking and growth from failure.

• Provide opportunities to explore purposes of writing and practice a variety of styles.

• Explore topics and genres in reading that help students identify interests.