Philosophy of Education

As a teacher, my priority is to make the classroom an engaging and comfortable space for students to learn in. One way I do this is by building meaningful and deep relationships with my students. I want to know about their beliefs and interests, as their educational trajectory will be housed within these two core items. Another way I make the classroom engaging is to differ instructional methods during the day. I incorporate several different learning styles and lesson types during the curriculum areas to keep the students interested in the content and the learning process.

I make it a priority that my students learn as much from each other as they learn from me. The collaborative learning process will foster a sense of community in the classroom and help create an environment they want to be a part of. In Kindergarten, the centre format is a phenomenal way to accomplish this. Furthermore, learning is also a two-way street. My students know more about certain topics than I do, and it is important to me to learn about those topics to pursue meaningful relationships.

One key area of my teaching style is keeping an open line of communication between the teaching team and families of my students. Teaching is a collaborative profession that takes problem solving and creativity. Within these two realms, having a discussion with colleagues can only benefit teaching practices. I also strongly believe that the parents are within the educational team. Between parents and teachers, we interact with the child for many hours of their day. The teacher and the parents can work together to strengthen and encourage life skills which will encourage a well-rounded individual.

As a homeroom teacher, I aspire that my students will create a love for learning. Not only does this include learning academic subjects, but a love for learning about their interests and what is happening around them. I aspire that my students will grow to reach for these interests and turn them into aspirations. I want my students to know that there are more ‘wonders’ out there than answers. The inquiry based learning that I set up in my classroom fosters a method of learning via interest and therefore increasing engagement. In the classroom we pursue wondering in many areas of the curriculum, but answers may not always be found. When answers aren’t readily available, I hope my students will use their knowledge and purposefully challenge these wonders. This leads into my final aspiration for my students: that they are caring and well-rounded individuals. By investigating wonders and challenging common thought, I hope my students will grow in education and in their interests.