Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.

-Nelson Mandela. As an educator I strive to meet the slogan of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods

College, to be competent, caring, and professional. Being a teacher who meets her students
needs in a multitude of creative, diverse, and thoughtful ways, so that no child is left behind, is
very important to me.
Being understanding and knowledgeable are two things I find critical as an educator. I
feel that if you have the patience and understanding to listen to children and their needs, as well
as your knowledge to handle any situation that is presented to you that ultimately growing and
developing as a teacher should come easily. As a teacher I will be, and have been, diligent in my
commitment towards continuing to learn with my students. I firmly believe that modeling
learning and growth is a crucial tool when approaching education.
My personal opinions towards education lead me to believe strongly in existentialism and
essentialism as personal teaching preferences. Through melding these two concepts, providing a
proper learning environment, and believing that students need to be prepared to live productively
through the content they are taught in their most formative years, core concepts and teaching
principles can be formed. I have witnessed that when students are given the right learning
environment and skills to apply their knowledge, they will desire to learn and strive to keep pace
with the classroom curriculum.
Planning is essential to me, in order to best achieve a well-balanced and thought out
instruction plan, a set plan and schedule must be enacted in the classroom. Having well thought
out and properly prepared lesson plans is a vital part of being a professional educator. A
classroom that is properly organized and is in a routine will be a more easily inhabitable one.

Furthermore I find that students work best with a schedule and routine; however this is not to say
that sometimes one cannot deviate from said routine or risk a child being unable to handle
change. Discipline and behavioral tactics in the classroom are essential for keeping order and
balance. Though I do not view myself as overtly strict, I do feel that my classroom teaching style
on disciple will be firm and no nonsense in a better attempt to maintain equality among all
students. Enacting a two-choice discipline system will aid me maintaining order and fairness
within my classroom. Additionally, students will have direct consequences to their actions that
are discussed and explained, before any such action occurs, so that they realize the direct
correlation of the action, reaction sequence.
Incorporating differentiation and various instructional strategies into my curriculum is
necessary to make learning accessible to all students, no matter their ability or skill level. This
can be modeled through teacher guided practices and direct instruction. In order to best serve a
variety of learners, students need to be engaged in a multitude of practices from group work to
being assigned a turn and talk partner. Additional implementations, such as technology, are
excellent uses of modern resources and directly apply to todays modern day student. However,
the use of traditional practices should not be forgotten. Using mentor texts to teach concepts in
reading and writing can be a truly inspirational process.
Making the most out of the student learning environment is essential to support learner
development. Providing opportunities for students to display their own created materials through
the room makes the space feel more inviting and can serve as a reminder of key concepts. The
use of anchor charts when teaching is also an excellent two-fold tool; anchor charts can be used
during direct lessons to impart knowledge, as well as be displayed through the classroom as
continuous reinforcement concepts. I further believe that the institution of station centers for use

during different subjects, particularly language and mathematics, should be created in the
classroom environment. These stations provide even some of the youngest learners the
opportunity to work independently, while also being guided through many concepts and content
materials.
Education is unique to that of the individual educator; each teacher brings something
different to each new group of students. When an educator begins their journey through teaching
they will have a different skill and mind set then educators ten years from when they began.
Educators must never stop growing and developing as learners or in their professional practice in
order to properly serve their students to the best of their ability. Education is our past, present,
and future. Teachers are responsible for shaping and molding all three of these aspects, that is
why in my opinion teachers must be a multitude of things but most of all competent, caring, and
professional in their continual journey with education.