“Unity is strength… when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.” ~ Mattie Stepanek
It is the positive and negative experiences throughout my life as a student and human being that have developed my personal philosophy. The philosophy that I want to build on is my students’ individual differences and teach them to celebrate them.The philosophy that my classroom is safe and one where learning is fostered in all different unique ways. The philosophy that I am simply the facilitator in my students learning and that they have the choice to develop their own educational journey. The philosophy that I will make a positive impact on my students in any way that I can. One teacher showed me what I want to be as a teacher, and another taught whom I don’t want to be. Both teachers may be good teachers but the experiences I had with them taught me what I value as a student and what I hope to be able to give my students in the future as a teacher.
I am going to reach these goals by holding my pedagogy close to my heart throughout my teaching career. I will remember to self-reflect and remind myself to stay true to who I am and who I want to be for my students. One of my strengths is that I have always strummed to the beat of my own drum, I have never been one to care what people think about what I do or who I am. I believe this will benefit me as an educator as it will allow me to be my most authentic self with my students and in the classroom. I have always been selfless and had the ability to put others first. I believe this will help me reach my goal of a student centered classroom by being able to put my students needs above all else. One personality trait I will have to be careful of is knowing my limits and knowing the signs of burnout. I can often push myself so hard and never leave time to slow down until it’s too late. I will work on knowing my limits and recognizing when I need to slow down and put my self first. I am motivated to accomplish my teaching goals and developing who I am as a teacher.