Philosophy of Education Celia Tafuri

Without a doubt, I am in the profession that fulfils me and inspires me to grow in my skills. As a young child, I was drawn to activities that involved teaching, such as becoming a teacher assistant, at ten years old, in ballet class. In fact, I believe that professions can choose you rather than you choosing the profession. Teaching, in its' many facets, is rewarding to me because of the precious time you spend helping the child learn. Each child has a bright future ahead that you have influenced. The thought of opening opportunities for a child is a reward in itself. As an elementary teacher I am committed to the core subjects of education and the many facets that they bring to the classroom. These subjects create a grounded education that allow opportunities for cross curricular lessons. I also find great value in the arts for an elementary classroom. Creativity and growth in the arts allows for greater ingenuity in other subjects. The arts are not a subject that is just incorporated to benefit the core subjects, they are equal to all other subjects and should be cherished. One of my goals is to create an arts integrated elementary curriculum for my classroom. My objective for students is to be well rounded, inquiring, hard-working and inspired learners. We are teaching individuals who will go on to do great things in the world. My duty as a teacher is to support my students, teach them to be diligent in all aspects, and inspire them to dream. I also find individual attention very important to show each child that I am proud of their successes. Each child is improving and learning at varying levels and they each need to be celebrated. If you were to see my classroom there would be students working with me in a group while you see other students discussing and creating based on the subject at hand. I believe that teaching students accountable talk leads to great discussions and encourages students to expand their knowledge through the zone of proximal development. Rather than lessons that are teacher centered for their entirety I think that the teacher should pose a question or challenge. The teacher models the methods that are being used for the day and then students work in either pairs or small groups. The teacher's job is to then monitor the groups to check for on-task learning,

this ensures that each child is benefiting from the experience. Then the group comes together and shares what they learned, what they shared with the group, and why this work is important. Once students have the chance to learn in the classroom the next aspect that is important is to have high quality assessments. My assessments should reflect what the students have learned from my teaching and also how effective my teaching was. I believe that assessments should be given along the way in a variety of ways to test the same skill. One assessment at the end of a unit is not beneficial for students neither is it beneficial for my teaching. Assessments could be from a conversation I had with a student, a test, a worksheet, an observation during an activity, or a culminating activity that covers a variety of skills. I want to give each student multiple opportunities to show that they have mastered a standard. Each child that enters the classroom has a great amount of diversity. I view each student as an individual with different lives at home, interests, and learning styles. My responsibility is to find the ways that work best for the child to learn in the classroom. I find that making connections with student's activities and showing each child that you care for them very important. My personality is very caring and nurturing which makes connecting with children very natural for me. If I show the student that I am on their side and want them to succeed our teacher-student relationship is much stronger. Along with making connections to my students I also find focusing on my practices beneficial. Self-reflection focuses me on the job at hand, successfully teaching my students. With self-reflection I can look past my assessment results and pinpoint why I am or am not effective in my classroom. Sometimes it is the way I teach, if I reflect I can make adjustments and try a new strategy. It may also be the student's environment, what could I do to help the student succeed? In my student teaching my supervisor gave me a very difficult first evaluation. It was totally appropriate to what I showed her in the classroom. She said that "she expected more from me." This phrase sent me into deep reflection about my teaching and what I showed to her in my lesson. My teaching that day was not authentic to how I love to teach. I over analyzed and included too much information. From that I point on I made drastic changes to my self confidence and finally showed my supervisor how I naturally want to teach. The advice of "being myself" has never meant so much to me. The last evaluation I had earned a perfect score, I believe it is because I showed authentic teaching.

As I enter the teaching profession I am in awe of what I learn about teaching everyday in the classroom. My perspective is always growing and I am encouraged by the challenges that education offers. I am ready to teach my own elementary classroom and cannot wait to be inspired by my students.