This I Believe [About Teaching & Learning]

I want to teach. I want to open the doors of students’ minds and their futures. I want to allow children an opportunity for a future, for an education, for a life. I want to help children find their beliefs, their desires, and their passion in life. I want to help them find their voice, through literature, debate, poetry. I want to model the importance of an education for students. I want to show them just how far a book can take them. I want to show students how a six stanza poem can lead them through life.  I want to teach children how an education can pave the road to the life they want. I want students to write their way to freedom. I want them to know that every line they write is a shot at changing and molding their future. I want them to find happiness in a classroom, a novel, a piece of their writing, and in their own mind. I want students to know their words hold weight and power. I want students to know there is meaning and purpose in everything they learn, even if they don’t see it at first. I want students to draw connections from their lives and bring them into the classroom. I want students to know that their lives are relevant.

I believe that every classroom is a safe haven. I believe a classroom is a community, a family, a nurturing environment. I believe every student has a voice and has power, even if they don’t believe they do. I believe every student needs an advocate. I believe students need the tools to strengthen and hone in on their voice, their opinions, their beliefs, and their power. I believe teachers give students the tools they will use for the rest of their lives. I believe education breaks the chains of oppression. I believe an education is valuable. I believe education is the way to the life you want.

I am against negative comments. I am against disbelief. I will not put my students down. I will not talk down to my students. I will not stand for negativity towards peers within my classroom. I am against oppression. I am against teaching to the book. I am against not bringing students’ lives and experiences into the lesson at hand or the classroom environment. I am against acting better than my students. I am for teaching, molding, and shaping minds. I am for being an advocate for my students. I am for modeling appropriate behavior. I am for being a human being in front of my students, while still maintaining appropriate behavior. I am for using authoritative power in the correct manner.