“People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." ― Theodore Roosevelt
An administrator came to talk to my class when I was getting my MAT. He looks directly at me and he asked, "what are you teaching son?" I replied, "Biology sir." He said, "No son, you're teaching children." This interaction was profound is at the center of how I teach. I believe that respect has to be at the foundation of the classroom environment that everything else must be build upon. Students in my class will know that they are valued as individuals that have a voice to be heard.
Students will not be allowed to idly sit back and soak up knowledge like a sponge. They will have to participate in my classroom. Students create meaning through experiences. So it is my goal to let them experience as much of the content as possible.
Students will not be allowed to idly sit back and soak up knowledge like a sponge. They will have to participate in my classroom. Students create meaning through experiences. So it is my goal to let them experience as much of the content as possible.
I want my students to feel welcomed and accepted in my classroom. It is important to me to be friendly with the students, and yet never become friends. It is important for me to genuinely listen to the students stories. Through their stories they tell me they both warmed my heart and also teach me a lot. My students are athletes, musicians, self-proclaimed nerds, dancers, hyper, loud and often time utterly ridiculous. While there are many things I need to give them as a teacher, my attention is the one that they seem to respond to the most. Teacher that fails to take the time to know their students will never be able to get the most out of them. I have observed that one of the best ways to get at a students mind it to go through their heart.