The above quote resonates with me and my vision of teaching. Teaching requires a specific mind set and positive spirit to truly be transformational. In my quest of being the most transformational teacher, I have had many reflections and adjustments to my teaching philosophy and my mission as an educator. I strive to spark students' enthusiasm about learning and provide a positive foundation to encourage lifelong learning. I believe teachers must have a growth and positive mindset in order to effectively follow through on their overall mission. My mission is to spark enthusiasm and provide foundations for learning with an open mind and willingness to adapt and implement changes. Data points and assessment scores are important, but students need to be invested in their own education and truly want to learn. This is why I have taken a step back to think of students overall well-being and create a vision that supports continuous, enthusiastic learning.
As I continue to teach, my philosophy has changed through new experiences and leaders. My first year of teaching was very rough and I constantly felt unsuccessful and unsupported. After my first year, I changed my personal mindset to believe that I could do this job and feel successful while ensuring my students are learning and meeting all of their goals. In my second year of teaching I was much stronger and did not fear feedback. Instead, I sought out feedback to continuously improve my practice in the best interest of my students. My students and I were recognized for high NWEA test scores, 100% on unit assessments, and overall growth. My students and I had success because of my own mindset and actions. I continue to have this mindset and feel stronger every year as a teacher. I have now decided to take a step back and instead of focusing so much on high scores, I have adapted my mission to ensure students encompass a love and thirst for learning. This starts by providing the foundation and enthusiasm for learning.
Through my own mindset and spirit, I am able to model for students why learning is important, how exciting it can be when learning something new, and how continuous learning opens new doors. I speak to my students about my courses I take to model that even adults still go to school because there is so much to learn and practice in everything we do. I make meaningful connections with my students by going to all of their homes for home visits. I am able to incorporate what I learn about my students into daily lessons to make them meaningful and spark that enthusiasm for learning. Students feel valued and excited to engage in content when there are personal connections to lessons. I make life connections to the content we are learning to explain why we are learning this and how it will help us in the future.
My goal is for students to enter and leave my classroom feeling enthusiastic about what we are learning that day and to keep that feeling to always continue learning.
As I continue to teach, my philosophy has changed through new experiences and leaders. My first year of teaching was very rough and I constantly felt unsuccessful and unsupported. After my first year, I changed my personal mindset to believe that I could do this job and feel successful while ensuring my students are learning and meeting all of their goals. In my second year of teaching I was much stronger and did not fear feedback. Instead, I sought out feedback to continuously improve my practice in the best interest of my students. My students and I were recognized for high NWEA test scores, 100% on unit assessments, and overall growth. My students and I had success because of my own mindset and actions. I continue to have this mindset and feel stronger every year as a teacher. I have now decided to take a step back and instead of focusing so much on high scores, I have adapted my mission to ensure students encompass a love and thirst for learning. This starts by providing the foundation and enthusiasm for learning.
Through my own mindset and spirit, I am able to model for students why learning is important, how exciting it can be when learning something new, and how continuous learning opens new doors. I speak to my students about my courses I take to model that even adults still go to school because there is so much to learn and practice in everything we do. I make meaningful connections with my students by going to all of their homes for home visits. I am able to incorporate what I learn about my students into daily lessons to make them meaningful and spark that enthusiasm for learning. Students feel valued and excited to engage in content when there are personal connections to lessons. I make life connections to the content we are learning to explain why we are learning this and how it will help us in the future.
My goal is for students to enter and leave my classroom feeling enthusiastic about what we are learning that day and to keep that feeling to always continue learning.
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