Tracy Mischell Philosophy of Education I believe that the teachers job in the classroom is to fulfill students learning needs

through proper instruction and a comfortable learning environment. With regards to classroom management, the teacher must find the balance between creating a studentrun environment and establishing authority and control in their classroom. If the students have a say about the rules of the classroom, they will feel more autonomous and they will be more willing to follow the rules. This will create a better classroom atmosphere that will be beneficial for learning. While students should have control over their own learning, they also should have respect for the authority of the teacher. Without an authority figure in the class to say what is happening next, nothing will get done because there is too much to learn in one short school day. My teaching style is one that is student-oriented. I believe that the most important part of elementary school education is to develop childrens academic skills, as well as their social and life skills, such as working together. Typically, there are also standards that must be met and standardized tests that must be administered. The standards are beneficial because they help ensure that students are learning what they need to be learning. Teachers should be thinking about all of their students when determining how to teach. A teacher needs to teach both towards each individual student, and to teach to all students. The way to do this is to get to know your students and figure out what each student needs in the classroom. Then, teachers need to address that all students learn differently, and differentiate instruction as necessary to fit the needs of the students. This

can be through teaching the material in more than one way, providing options for students, previewing, or taking individual time to work with students one-on-one. Assessment also plays an important role in education. While it may be easy for a teacher to hand out a test and assess students based on the score they receive, this is not necessarily an accurate measurement of ability. Therefore, it is important to assess in many different ways, so that students receive different opportunities to show off what they know. Also, it is important to think about assessment not just as summative, but also as formative. It is just as important to determine what students know at the end of a unit as it is to find out how the learning is going throughout in order to guide instruction. It is important to keep assessment periodically, formally and informally, and to provide students multiple means for showing familiarity and comfort with the subject, in a nondiscriminatory way. With regards to English Language Learners, I believe that patience and understanding are essential. When students first come to the United States, they often have a silent period where they do not speak. This does not mean that they do not want to learn English; it just means that they are figuring out their surroundings. Students also learn BICS faster than CALP. When teachers hear students talking on the playground, they need to understand that it does not necessarily mean that they will be able to read books. Teachers need to be patient with the students and give them time to grow at their own pace because not all ELLs learn the same way. If students are anxious or uncomfortable, they will feel pressure, which is not conducive to a healthy learning environment. Students from different cultures have different beliefs about how to behave in school, on the playground, and in general. Teachers working with ELLs and their

parents need to be aware of their cultures in order to ease the transition to life in America and to understand that a child does not always know what is expected in American schools. I believe that it is the teachers job to make sure that ELLs are provided with instruction that is appropriate for their proficiency level as well as their culture in order to ensure maximum success and comfort in the classroom. Students can love learning and genuinely want to learn. If the teacher creates an environment where the students can learn to the best of their abilities, then the students will learn to enjoy learning. This will make students want to continue to learn and further their education. One way to make learning fun for children would be to allow students to have choices and participate in their learning experiences. I believe that this is very important so that students realize why they need to learn what they learn. All in all, I believe that the teachers job is to meet the needs of the students, while creating a safe and comfortable environment that students can learn in so that they can love learning.