I believe the purpose of education is to develop our modern students to become productive members of society, to nurture their individual interests in an environment that respects a diversity of learning styles and student abilities. I believe that a modern education should teach social and civic responsibilities and help build future citizens who cherish the values of democracy. I believe that the purpose of education is to build a better future for our society, and to do this we must focus on the strengths and interests of the individual student, as well as teach a curriculum which exposes students to some traditional and classic materials. An effective and progressive education will honor tradition while embracing change and innovation.
Every good teacher is a storyteller and our students can best learn in the form of stories. Our thoughts flow in the form of stories, and the sharing of knowledge between teacher and student becomes the process of sharing the stories about events, people, intentions, achievements as well as content knowledge.
This metaphor reflects my beliefs about how learning takes place because a cornerstone of those beliefs lies in personalized instruction and making personal connections with my students. I also believe in fostering personal connections between the content and a personal experience. There is no better way to do this than to share my own personal stories with my students and to understand their stories. Every student has a story to tell and by listening to those stories I can be a more effective teacher, because I can learn how to individualize our instruction for a particular group or individual student. The first activity my students will complete will be to write a “letter of introduction” to me where they will tell me their story, their concerns, and their strengths and weaknesses so that I may learn how to tailor my classroom instruction. I can understand what impedes the student's learning experience or what enhances it. I can also understand how the content can become relevant in the life of my students, which then will help give them ownership of that knowledge and create an environment where they think about their learning and do something with it.
As a teacher need , I feel it is imperative for me to listen to the stories of the students but also provide a forum for them to tell a good story. The metaphor of the storyteller reflects my beliefs about good teaching because I believe teachers must be entertainers with our content. We are working with a generation of students who are accustomed to being entertained with actions, visuals and noise. We have to enhance and create a dynamic lesson in order to captivate our audience of students. My lessons and lectures will most often incorporate visuals and/or audio aids, as a way to capture attention.
We need to become "human" to our students so they will want to learn from our us; thus they must understand both our personal story as well as the story of the content and the lesson. The best class is the class where the story has captivated the audience of students and suddenly the bell has rung and it is time to go! By learning to tell a story with strong voice inflection, body movement, dramatic flair and interactive discussion you create and present a good lesson. There is a bit of acting that goes into good teaching. In my classroom you will often hear me reading aloud with expression and also acting parts in dramatic presentations in order to provide modeling for future student dramatizations.
I want all my students to read effectively by clearly identifying, interpreting, summarizing and applying important information and concepts as we will study them in the literature of the course. My students will write effectively by clearly expressing ideas, using effective organization, employing appropriate vocabulary, and demonstrating a mastery of grammar.
It is important that students communicate effectively by organizing thoughts on specific content and using engaging delivery and appropriate visual elements. There will be many opportunities in the class to present orally.
In order for students to be prepared for the future they must be able to think critically and engage in problem solving by identifying and effectively analyzing a problem and constructing logical solutions that are highly organized and insightful to reach a clear conclusion. The opportunity to debate issues of social significance will present themselves regularly in our class discussions.
Students in my class will work independently, collaboratively, and creatively by contributing unique ideas and strategies, maintaining a positive attitude, and effectively managing time, materials, and resources. It is my goal that all students will leave my class with more knowledge of the subject and content, but also with more life skills than that with which they entered. I would like my students to participate in a variety of school and community activities, accept responsibility for their choices and actions and treat everyone with respect and appreciate diversity.
I want all my students to understand that by reading and being exposed to a variety of literature and films that they can build strong moral character and understand that their past connects to their future. The study of literature is a creative and dynamic process. With my guidance, and together as a class, I can assist students to further their understanding and appreciation of the role of sport in our society and the symbols, motifs and themes that represent the human condition in sports. Through the reading, discussing, interpreting and and analyzing of various novels, short stories, poetry, drama, non-fiction, and films we can all enhance our view of the role of sport in our lives and our culture. As part of this process, it is my responsibility to ensure that discussion and dialogue is conducted in an atmosphere of mutual respect where diverse opinions are tolerated. The study of sport literature will naturally deal with sensitive social issues, such as race and ethnic barriers, and all students should be respected when sharing their views.
I am a proponent of active learning and use a variety of methods to encourage discussion and interaction on the issues that the course presents. One method I frequently use is the debate format. One specific issue we will debate in class is the concept of shared leadership versus the traditional roles of team captains. Students will research the two concepts, one progressive in thought and the other traditional in nature, and debate the positive and negative aspects of both. Students must also take responsibility for their own learning and achievement by preparing their own questions designed to promote class discussion, as well as help other students learn by preparing and presenting short analyses of specific sports-related issues that are current in the news to begin class discussions or working together on research projects.
When lecture is necessary I typically intersperse my talk with student questions designed to allow students to reflect on central points that have been raised during the lecture. It is a time for students to share their reflections with their classmates. I often use overhead transparencies or power point slides to enrich the lecture format, along with video clips of the topic at hand when they can be found. I try to have interactive lecture sessions to the best extent possible, but the lecture format in my classrooms is minimal and reserved for those times when direct instruction of a concept or task makes it unavoidable.
I also believe in peer evaluation, peer study groups and peer presentations. I do this by organizing literature groups, where each student is given a role such as a theme master, genre master, word master, geographer, connector, which facilitates discussion of the literature. The major project for the course requires groups of students to film a short sport documentary of local importance.
I am an advocate of requiring students to engage in extensive written and oral communication. Students will be required to keep a reflective journal on sports-related issues that are current in the media. Students are required to write film analyses, compare and contrast essays, and persuasive essays. Students must also engage in the creative writing process with a collection of sports poetry or a short story. Journals are useful as a tool for developing classroom discussions. Journals are a way for students to express themselves informally and they provide me the avenue for a more complete assessment of a student's ability than would be possible by relying on a combination of formal papers and examinations.
I believe that learning is a lifelong process and as a teacher of literature I feel there is no better way to continue to learn than to be an avid reader and it is a main component in my continued professional growth. “There is no frigate like a book to take us lands away, nor any coursers like a page of prancing poetry. This traverse may the poorest take without oppress of toll; how frugal is the chariot that bears a human soul.” – Emily Dickinson. I was a young girl in high school when I first came across this poem by Emily Dickinson and over the years this poem has taken on new meaning for me at various stages of my life, but always with the same constant theme - books have been my means of traveling the world, meeting new people, and learning about different cultures. My books have provided a means of escape in troubling times and comfort in times of ease. I wish to convey this love of literature to my students in my classes. International experiences are also a part of my professional growth; as my participation on a Fulbright Teacher Exchange program in 2009 allowed me to grow in my teaching and learning style. I continue to learn about the uses of technology in education such as on-line systems like, “Blackboard”, “Moodle” and “Noodletools.” I am an advocate of exposing students to a variety of technology and believe this is the area of my own education that needs the most effort. I have become too comfortable as a teacher in the high school atmosphere and wish to challenge myself by entering post-secondary education and the pursuit of the Certificate in College Teaching through the Colleges of Worcester Consortium is a step to further my goal of securing a full time instructor position in a community or state college.
Finally, I am very committed to providing a learning environment that is exciting and rigorous with high academic expectations, one that empowers both student and teacher in pursuing learning. Assessment strategies will respect diverse learning styles and individual student choice which will allow for fair grading. I believe that students are responsible for their own achievement and success in my course, and I am flexible and adaptable in order to meet those needs. My classroom is based on mutual respect, individual responsibility, open communication and timely feedback on assignments in order to facilitate student success. I love teaching, it is my passion and my calling in life, and I believe that my passion is evident to all students who enter my classroom. If, in the end, some of them decide to become teachers, then I have been rewarded beyond the walls of the classroom and the grades achieved.
