Education Philosophy
English education teachers not only hold the ability to help students develop skills essential in today’s society such as reading, writing, and spoken communication, but also hold the ability to help students gain an appreciation for and celebrate the differences and diversity found within the world around us.
Through literature, students are provided with the opportunity to explore and interpret issues surrounding society and the human experience. This provides students with the chance to learn more about themselves as well as more about those that are different from them. Developing strong writing and speaking skills helps students develop a voice; confidence in these skills provides them with the opportunity to communicate their ideas, beliefs and emotions during a time when they all too often feel overlooked or muted.
Technology is a driving force of today’s society. As such, it is imperative that educators introduce a variety of technology resources to students through lesson plans and curriculums. The use of individualized websites, blogs, wikis, and bookmarking sites will help students develop skills to navigate the World Wide Web in an environment that shows them how to do it safely.
Positive environment, positive engagement
I strongly believe that students want to learn. When students find curriculums exciting, interesting, stimulating, (insert positive adjective here), they become more actively engaged in the classroom; thus, positive engagement creates a positive environment. I help create this by providing my students with choices. In terms of literature, this means allowing them to select their own novels to read. There isn’t one exemplar book that alone helps students truly understand the literary makings of a novel: theme, characterization, plot, setting, etc. However, every novel does consist of these very elements, so I focus my lessons around those elements rather than the text that the students have chosen. In terms of writing, I like to provide a variety of topics and genres from which the students can choose to write about. The students have the right to choose between fiction and nonfiction writing, abstract and literal pieces. Ultimately, this choose allows students to select areas of interests, which aides in acquiring their engagement.
Communications
The most immediate form of communication that I maintain with students, parents, administrators, and anyone else that wants to check-in on my classes is through my website/blog. Through this online resource, I can publish the course calendar, units, assignments, any messages to students/parents, and anything else I deem necessary. This year I have also been working on a template for a digital unit newsletter that I would like to initiate next year. In this newsletter I would like to describe in details the upcoming units that will be present in my classroom, along with all of the vital information associated with those units. On top of that, I maintain the standard communications with parents via email and phone conversations.