My Platforms:
Literacy
“Literacy learning begins in the home and community. It continues in school where literacy instruction should stimulate, teach, and extend the communication and thinking skills that will allow students to develop positive attitudes and to become effective readers, writers, communicators, and life-long learners.”
- http://www.eduplace.com/rdg/itl/intro/philo.html
Literacy is a crucial skill in every stage of life, students will need to read and write everyday whether or not they continue with education after high school. I believe that teachers should have the passion to teach students to read and write exceptionally because both skills allow students to escape from reality.
Whenever I hear the word literacy, the image that comes to mind is reading or learning to read but it is so much more. Literacy is the passion or disinterest in a student for reading, its the way they hold the book and sound out the words. Literacy is reading pictures and words because learning to reading requires the skill to do both. Literacy can be integrated into every lesson and students should be starting to connect each subject to one another. Those connections are what make literacy so important, they show students that the world is connected and it shows teachers that what we are doing is working and making a difference.
I believe that choosing the right books is important, teachers should love the books they choose or be very good actors and that when a teacher really loves a book, the love shows through and students love them too. We should strive to read aloud to our students every day and not just for shared reading but just for fun or because we found a new book and we need to share it with our students.
We should have large classroom libraries filled with books of different genres so that both student and teachers have a large selection. Our classroom library should grow with new exciting works throughout the year. It should be organized because if a students falls in love with a book and wants to read it again, they should be able to find it. Classroom libraries need a spot for the books teachers love, those books are golden and students will want to read them if we do our jobs right.
Literacy sparks the love of learning in students; it allows for them to communicate or express emotion. I believe that each student has the potential to be an effective reader who can write about what they read and then can tell the world what they read, why they liked or didn't, and argue why. Teachers can't change what happens at home but we can change what happens at school and give students the love of reading, writing, and learning is a good place to start.
Assessment
“Assessment is not an end in itself but a vehicle for educational improvement.”- http://www.washington.edu/oea/assessment/principles.html
Assessment, the dreaded ten letter word for students and teachers alike. The first idea that pops into my head when I hear assessment is test and long hours of staring students who are stressed out and nervous. Slowly but surely the idea of assessing students is becoming more of a tool than a hassle. The assessments give great insight into the various learning styles and individual levels of each student.
Mathematics
"The essence of mathematics is not to make simple things complicated, but to make complicated things simple."
-S. Gudder
I believe that everyone is good at Math in some way or manner. Students need to have a strong basis to start them off as Mathematicians and then positive reinforcement as they progress through higher level maths. Teachers should provide math through problem solving in relevant contexts so that students can take the knowledge from the classroom to the real world.
ESOL
❝If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.❞
‒Nelson Mandela
Language can be a barrier or a connection but I believe that even when there is a language barrier that both teacher and student can connect and learn from each other. Students who don't speak the same language as the people who surround them are an asset who may need a little more support but can still be a vital person in the classroom.
Child Development
"A stable and nurturing childhood is essential for the healthy psycho-emotional and spiritual development of a human being. While we may understand what is supposed to happen to us physically, we must begin to better understand what happens to children mentally, emotionally and spiritually as a result of the families into which they are born."
- Iyanla Vanzant
When children walk into the classroom they are no more responsible for their home environment then they are what the weather is outside, they can't control what goes on home and bring whatever happened at home with them. All children develop at different times and teachers need to be aware of that.
Social Studies
"One person can make the difference, and everyone should try."
- John F. Kennedy
Social Studies is an essential element for any classroom and should be included into literacy to provide students with more assess points for learning about the people or places around them. Teachers should spark students to actively participate in discussions on social studies and social justice. We should strive to ignite students interest in a subject that they research it on their own.
Exceptional Students
"Teachers affect eternity; no one can tell where their influence stops."
- Henry Brooks Adams
Each child should be given a equal opportunity to be participant in the classroom; a place they'll spend a majority of their time each year. Teachers have the ability to make sure that all students are having their needs met both academically and emotionally. If a teacher is unable to do so then they should be reaching out to get the support for those students, every student is important no matter where they come from or what disability they have.
Management
"In an effective classroom students should not only know what they are doing, they should also know why and how''
- Harry Wong
I believe that every student wants some sort of behavior management system whether it is in the classroom or outside of the classroom. Students need structure to be successful or at least consistency, teachers should strive to have structure in the classroom where they can be as consistent as possible. While teachers should still allow for some flexibility for students who could have specific behavior management systems.
Instructional Planning
"Instruction begins when you, the teacher, learn from the learner; put yourself in his place so that you may understand . . . what he learns and the way he understands it."
- Soren Kierkegaard
Teaching interactive, engaging lessons that meet the learning needs of all students in the classroom requires teachers to plan well thought out lessons do just that. There are a variety of ways for teachers to plan such as backwards planning that allows for teachers to start at what they want students to learn and work back from there.
Writing
“To read voraciously for pleasure,
because there are so many great books
To write or draw everything you think or feel or believe,
because your thinking matters.”
– Linda Rief
Writing and Literacy are highly integrated into each other, when students love reading they love writing. I believe that students should be given the time and the means to be as creative as possible with their writings. I want to enrich students by using the writing cycle and incorporating the traits of writing into our daily five. Students need to love writing because it is so integrated into every subject.
“Literacy learning begins in the home and community. It continues in school where literacy instruction should stimulate, teach, and extend the communication and thinking skills that will allow students to develop positive attitudes and to become effective readers, writers, communicators, and life-long learners.”
- http://www.eduplace.com/rdg/itl/intro/philo.html
Literacy is a crucial skill in every stage of life, students will need to read and write everyday whether or not they continue with education after high school. I believe that teachers should have the passion to teach students to read and write exceptionally because both skills allow students to escape from reality.
Whenever I hear the word literacy, the image that comes to mind is reading or learning to read but it is so much more. Literacy is the passion or disinterest in a student for reading, its the way they hold the book and sound out the words. Literacy is reading pictures and words because learning to reading requires the skill to do both. Literacy can be integrated into every lesson and students should be starting to connect each subject to one another. Those connections are what make literacy so important, they show students that the world is connected and it shows teachers that what we are doing is working and making a difference.
I believe that choosing the right books is important, teachers should love the books they choose or be very good actors and that when a teacher really loves a book, the love shows through and students love them too. We should strive to read aloud to our students every day and not just for shared reading but just for fun or because we found a new book and we need to share it with our students.
We should have large classroom libraries filled with books of different genres so that both student and teachers have a large selection. Our classroom library should grow with new exciting works throughout the year. It should be organized because if a students falls in love with a book and wants to read it again, they should be able to find it. Classroom libraries need a spot for the books teachers love, those books are golden and students will want to read them if we do our jobs right.
Literacy sparks the love of learning in students; it allows for them to communicate or express emotion. I believe that each student has the potential to be an effective reader who can write about what they read and then can tell the world what they read, why they liked or didn't, and argue why. Teachers can't change what happens at home but we can change what happens at school and give students the love of reading, writing, and learning is a good place to start.
Assessment
“Assessment is not an end in itself but a vehicle for educational improvement.”- http://www.washington.edu/oea/assessment/principles.html
Assessment, the dreaded ten letter word for students and teachers alike. The first idea that pops into my head when I hear assessment is test and long hours of staring students who are stressed out and nervous. Slowly but surely the idea of assessing students is becoming more of a tool than a hassle. The assessments give great insight into the various learning styles and individual levels of each student.
Mathematics
"The essence of mathematics is not to make simple things complicated, but to make complicated things simple."
-S. Gudder
I believe that everyone is good at Math in some way or manner. Students need to have a strong basis to start them off as Mathematicians and then positive reinforcement as they progress through higher level maths. Teachers should provide math through problem solving in relevant contexts so that students can take the knowledge from the classroom to the real world.
ESOL
❝If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.❞
‒Nelson Mandela
Language can be a barrier or a connection but I believe that even when there is a language barrier that both teacher and student can connect and learn from each other. Students who don't speak the same language as the people who surround them are an asset who may need a little more support but can still be a vital person in the classroom.
Child Development
"A stable and nurturing childhood is essential for the healthy psycho-emotional and spiritual development of a human being. While we may understand what is supposed to happen to us physically, we must begin to better understand what happens to children mentally, emotionally and spiritually as a result of the families into which they are born."
- Iyanla Vanzant
When children walk into the classroom they are no more responsible for their home environment then they are what the weather is outside, they can't control what goes on home and bring whatever happened at home with them. All children develop at different times and teachers need to be aware of that.
Social Studies
"One person can make the difference, and everyone should try."
- John F. Kennedy
Social Studies is an essential element for any classroom and should be included into literacy to provide students with more assess points for learning about the people or places around them. Teachers should spark students to actively participate in discussions on social studies and social justice. We should strive to ignite students interest in a subject that they research it on their own.
Exceptional Students
"Teachers affect eternity; no one can tell where their influence stops."
- Henry Brooks Adams
Each child should be given a equal opportunity to be participant in the classroom; a place they'll spend a majority of their time each year. Teachers have the ability to make sure that all students are having their needs met both academically and emotionally. If a teacher is unable to do so then they should be reaching out to get the support for those students, every student is important no matter where they come from or what disability they have.
Management
"In an effective classroom students should not only know what they are doing, they should also know why and how''
- Harry Wong
I believe that every student wants some sort of behavior management system whether it is in the classroom or outside of the classroom. Students need structure to be successful or at least consistency, teachers should strive to have structure in the classroom where they can be as consistent as possible. While teachers should still allow for some flexibility for students who could have specific behavior management systems.
Instructional Planning
"Instruction begins when you, the teacher, learn from the learner; put yourself in his place so that you may understand . . . what he learns and the way he understands it."
- Soren Kierkegaard
Teaching interactive, engaging lessons that meet the learning needs of all students in the classroom requires teachers to plan well thought out lessons do just that. There are a variety of ways for teachers to plan such as backwards planning that allows for teachers to start at what they want students to learn and work back from there.
Writing
“To read voraciously for pleasure,
because there are so many great books
To write or draw everything you think or feel or believe,
because your thinking matters.”
– Linda Rief
Writing and Literacy are highly integrated into each other, when students love reading they love writing. I believe that students should be given the time and the means to be as creative as possible with their writings. I want to enrich students by using the writing cycle and incorporating the traits of writing into our daily five. Students need to love writing because it is so integrated into every subject.