Deanna Clark PHILOSOPHY OF TEACHING

dclarkplacer12@gmail.com

206.251.5677

In LakEch is a Mayan saying meaning, You are my other me. This saying encompasses what I believe to be the role of a teacher, seeing within each student great wonder and unique potential. Once this sense of human connection and appreciation of each student is established, a teacher can begin her role as an authority figure, facilitator, and role model, educating her students as she would educate herself. Teachers should strive to foster excellence aligned with the academic standards, while simultaneously developing curious, passionate, and considerate human beings. As children transition from a world centered at home to a world centered at school, elementary teachers become some of the most influential adults in their lives. This influence can teach students respect, discipline, humility, hard work and trust, in addition to math and English. Teachers also have the ability to establish confidence and determination in students, inspiring children and giving them the sense that they can succeed. By doing this, teachers can create a generation ready to tackle their responsibilities and possibilities in life. Once students own this sense of enriched opportunity, they are much less likely to passively exist in, let alone harm, their world. Although each teacher has only limited time with each student, this interval matters, and builds upon the students pasts and futures. Albert Einstein once said, "Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school. It is up to teachers to ensure that this education is meaningful. In order to best bring these ideals to life in my classroom, I must create a class and school environment based on respect, leadership, responsibility, innovation, possibility, and service. I must provide my students with a framework

Deanna Clark

dclarkplacer12@gmail.com

206.251.5677

in which they can discover their passions and strengths, while learning to work with others and be a positive attribute to their community. I must begin by learning about my students cultures, interests and aspirations, and sharing some of my own with them, showing them respect in order to receive it. I must continually see all that my students can teach me and teach each other. I hope to then provide my students with relevant reasons for why we learn what we do in school, in addition to a contemporary and engaging curriculum. I believe in developing systems that push students to intrinsically work harder than they knew they could, in order to better themselves and the world. While I have high academic expectations for my students, I believe in teaching the whole child, allowing students to learn and grow in more areas than just as standards hold necessary. I hope to pass on an appreciation of art, health, music, and foreign language to my students. I aim to create a safe space where students feel comfortable expressing themselves through written and spoken words, and the arts. I hope to show my students the beauty that exists in the world around us, if we are willing to notice. It is my job to teach these children to be open to and appreciative of foreign places, cultures, people, and ideas, so that as our world becomes increasingly globalized, these students will contribute to society. Finally, I believe that I must continue to cultivate my own passions, interests, and experiences, both professionally and within the world, in order to be the best role model and mentor that I can be for my students.