Megan’s Philosophy

Why did you decide to become a teacher?

Experience is not what happens to you; it’s what you do with what happened” (Huxley)

As a child, my schooling experience was different than most. I was always asking for help and I worked with the reading specialist. “Normal” was not how I felt. As I have grown and reflected upon the role of the teacher, I have come to learn a transformative teacher builds strong caring capable students who believe in themselves and their ability to change the world.

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What do you believe to be the purpose of education?

I believe that it is our job to build compassionate members of society who become life-long learners. To help our students find the knowledge and drive within themselves to try new things and to learn without fear of not being accepted. To create open-minded global citizens who embrace differences in others and who can think critically and also teach themselves when necessary.

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Megan’s key values she holds as a teacher and examples of how she translates these in her classroom practice.

I believe an outstanding teacher should be patient, kind, and fun. It is important to have a bond with your students so that learning can flourish. Current educational research indicates children need to have a high level of engagement within the classroom in order to excel. I feel the use of active simulations, role-play, hands-on learning, and pulling small groups daily is essential in order to meet everyone’s needs.

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Examples of how Megan’s classroom practice is aligned with classic or contemporary ideas about human learning.

Ryan and Deci (2000) speak about how understanding the different types of extrinsic motivation and what fosters each of them is important for educators who struggle with students who have limited intrinsic motivation when it comes to their learning. In our classroom, we should strive to promote motivation by making sure our students feel connected to the content as well as that they have a feeling of competence.

From the article, A Culturally Competent Citizenry for the 21st Century Canul (2010) spoke about accepting all cultures and inviting children to learn about other cultures. Children can be supported in developing 21st-century skills in order to more deeply understand current global phenomena, such as collectivism. Another such example is exposing children to a diverse cultural context, in order to support their entrance into a global society. When looking at 21st-century learning, it seems critical to be able to collaborate. By having small group work students can learn to collaborate together.

Geneva Gay states that “culturally responsive teaching builds on student’s prior knowledge.” When examining this quote it is evident that representing a student’s culture and adapting to our students is what is most important for students to flourish in the classroom. The way I interpret power and privilege in relation to a culturally responsive classroom would be that teachers need to accept and create a welcoming environment for everyone. This may include labeling items in two languages and providing pictures for extra scaffolding support.