Monday, December 1, 2008

Dream

My ideal classroom is going to be somewhere in an urban area but it's going to have lots of diversity. I want to have a class of about 20 students or less. I wouldn't mind teaching in a large school district. I think the more children the more challenging it is going to be. But I like to take on challenges because it makes things more interesting and worthwhile. I think that I will be able to work well with my coworkers because I am a free spirited and outgoing person. I like to get involved in many things and always doing something. I think that I will be able to coach the track or if they have a field hockey program that would be neat to do.

I am majoring in elementary education and I have a minor in special education and so I think that I will do well with all kinds of kids that might come into my classroom. I hope that my students will be accessible to a variety of technology tools such as the entire Microsoft Office and SmartBoard. I will a SmartBoard as one of my major instructional tools. I will have my students learn collaboratively and independently. I want my students to be successful in everything that they do. I like to incorporate multiple technologies to engage all of my students. I am pretty familiar with the multiple intelligences and I think that is important to know. Having my students working and learning in a variety of ways will help them grow and develop into successful learners. Technology is one of the fastest and greatest ways to increase the interest in education. From Instructional Media I am able to learn how to collaborate with my coworkers, my students, and their parents. Communication is a vital part for the teacher to be successful in the classroom and for developing relationships with the student body.

When I become a teacher I will have a classroom that is student oriented. From a philosophical view I am a progressivist. My main concern for my students is for them to learn by making their own decisions from their real world experiences. I hope to help my students develop meaningful questions that will be answered through these experiences. I personally grew up relating to this philosophy because I use life’s lessons and mistakes and learn from them. I think that this approach has helped me become an overall well-rounded person. I agree with John Dewey that people learn best through social interactions in the real world. Every day we as humans are being challenged and questioned and we need to ask ourselves questions to come up with solutions that will be the best for us and for others.

Another philosophical view I believe in is the student-centered philosophy known as existentialism. This philosophy places the highest degree of importance on student perceptions, decisions, and actions. I am very independent and the teachers that I enjoyed the most growing up with were the ones that had multiple teaching strategies. I was better at essays because I could express my thoughts and opinions to explain the meaning of something. Existentialists believe that it’s up to the student to make all relevant educational decisions and to evaluate these decisions. As an athlete I like field hockey because I develop social groups and learn from my teammates like the progressivist. I enjoy track as well because its up to me how hard I’m going to work to improve and determine my own destinations like the existentialist.

When you walk into my classroom you will not see me sitting at my desk or standing in front of the classroom. You will have to look a little harder at the groups of students that are working on their projects. It may appear that my classroom is distraught and out of order but I know that I am in complete control of my students and they are what I believe learning the most they are able to through these social interactions. I think that communication is the most vital part to success with my students and that interaction has to occur between the teacher with their students and most importantly their parents. I want to be a teacher that is socially active as well as developing interpersonal relationships with my students and their parents.

The progressive philosophy relates to my ethical view. I agree with Aristotle’s rational that humans are born with equality and dignity because we are all rational human beings. This fairness or justice approach is a strong belief with how I feel every one of my students will be treated in my classroom. In order for me to gain any respect and honesty out of my students I will demand that we treat each other as equals. Students feel more positive and motivated in a classroom where they are able to feel equality along with their peers and teacher. This is only fair because it creates a safe playing field and there are no pointing fingers or putting more pressure on students than there should be. Along with the fairness and justice approach I also agree with the rights approach. My students should feel that their ability to make decisions to do what they want to do with their lives freely is up to them. I want all my students to be successful and in order for that to happen my students have to understand that it is up to their efforts and decisions that they will learn from life that will ultimately make them a stronger individual.

My goal as a teacher is to have successful students. I want my curriculum to be based on experiences, interests, and abilities of the students. I want my students to experiment with different types of experiences whether it is joining an athletic team or a club. I know that it is from my social experiences and trying new things that I normally wouldn’t do has made me a well-rounded individual and it has helped me relate better with people. Through all the different activities that I have been involved in I have been able to find my strengths and weaknesses. This is what I want my students to establish.

No comments: