I want
to help. All of the joy and meaning I have experienced in my life
comes from the places where I have shared; the places where I have expanded my
boundaries as a human being and they have overlapped with other human being’s. I
believe that the relationships you forge with students will determine their
success. I believe that no one will care about what you have to offer if you
don’t care about what they have to offer.
I
believe that students learn when they engage with the content in meaningful
ways: when they can see how a lesson impacts and expands them. I believe that
the question “Why do I need to know this?” is a powerful question that deserves
an answer. I believe that learning is a co-created experience, like meaning or purpose.
I am trusted to be in a room facilitating the bonds a student creates with the
content. I provide support, knowledge, encouragement, belief in the student,
accountability, and opportunity in my classroom.
I
believe in a school as a community, with a family of educators who can better
impact the greater community and students through collaboration and pooled talents
and resources. I believe that collaboration will always provide a sum greater
than the parts.
I
believe that assessment is a beautiful part of the relationship with a student
when done intentionally It provides feedback and guidance, and it helps them to
understand criticism as a seed for growth and not as a threat or an insult. It
can help them understand their capacities and believe in them. It can tell them
where they are and where they are going. At my best I help them realize that a
brave human being who trusts themself and in their potential is as close to unstoppable
as we get.
I
believe in the importance of my content on the student’s life. I believe that literature
hollows us out and creates an enormous capacity in us. I believe it teaches us
to value other voices and ideas. I know it expands our empathy and
understanding. It’s lovely that we can access such a marketplace of humanity. I
believe that writing and speaking benefit any career choice and every
relationship a student will have. Communication is the core of humanity: We are
a cooperative species. I devoutly believe in this. More than anything I want to
be a part of the architecture of their voices and, in a deeper way, their
ability to trust their boundaries and ideas and voices.
I
believe that care is integral to pedagogy. I believe that differentiation is an
inevitable side effect of making that respect and care for the student
paramount.
I
believe in learning. I believe I will never be done finding ways to connect
with both students and colleagues. I will never know so much that I am done
learning how to teach. I believe that this is a vocation as much as a
profession. I believe I have a responsibility to improve as much as I have a
responsibility to expect my students to improve.
I
believe I can help.