Being a teacher is not only me teaching a student but also letting a student teach me. I have to be a part of my student’s life and learn from them. I need the heart and passion to communicate with my students so that we can grow together. It is about having the patience to work with every one of my students and not being afraid of being humiliated. Because I’m a part of these students’ lives now, I have to plant seeds in their heads that make them persevere and become something. I have to spark curiosity in my students so that they want to learn, it can’t just be repetitive notes. Being a teacher is so much more than sitting in a classroom and having student’s copy down notes, it is about the love that I have for every single one of those students and the feeling of wanting to be there when I walk into my classroom. Loving and appreciating what I will do for a living is what makes a great teacher.

One thing I have taken from our readings this past semester is that “your classroom needs to keep to the “Six ‘authentic’ instructional principles: (1) teachers and students are confident that everyone learns well; (2) lessons are active, multidimensional, and social; (3) new learning builds on students’ existing cultural knowledge; (4) assessment enhances learning; (5) relationships are caring and interdependent; and (6) talk and action are socially just” (Oakes & Lipton, 168). As a teacher I need to be confident that I am getting all the information through to my entire class. Every classroom will be filled with all different learners and it is my job to figure out what works best for each of them and adapt as best as able. The second one kind of goes along with that because the information needs to be taught in many ways so that each of my students can learn the best way possible for them. My classroom will stay open minded and we will build off my students knowledge. It is important that I keep them growing in the right direction. I also think it is important that we have a wide variety of cultural learning. Your culture should be promoted and you should be proud of it, so I will incorporate activities to make this possible. It is also important that as a teacher that I take part in what I preach. Without that my student’s cannot gain respect & trust for me.

Currently, I work at Micah House, which is a non-profit after school program for underprivileged children. Working there has also given me much knowledge that I will bring into my classroom. I now understand that not all of my students have homes that they can go home to and do their homework, when they don’t finish at Micah House, they just don’t finish. This has made me think about how I will deal with homework, and we have also discussed this in class. I don’t plan on giving my students homework every night, just so they are at home doing busy work. There will be homework when it is relevant to what they are learning, as well as when they need the practice. As we talked about, children these days are involved in extra curricular activities and sometimes don’t get home and start their homework until 8 at night, along with the fact that parents may not be around to help them until late in the night. This was also something that went along with something we discussed in class, on getting to know your students. It’s important that I am clued in, at least somewhat, on what their home lives are like. I’m not going to punish a student for a lifestyle that they had no choice in.

I hope to get to know each of my students as individuals and make a point to learn about their life in and out of school. I want to know if they do worry about not getting their homework done because once they leave school they have more important responsibilities they need to take care of. I have seen this first hand because at Micah House we have probably the bottom two students of each class and half of their parents don’t even speak English, along with many other problems at home. You can tell that their teachers do not want to hear about it because the rest of their students have no problem getting their homework done. Those who take the time to understand their students as individuals and really know what their lifestyles are out of school are the teachers that succeed in my eyes. You have to make it your life, and not be afraid to take your job home with you and work past hours. A teacher is an influence on so many young peoples lives and if you aren’t ready to put all your work into it then teaching is not the job for you.

Something I was told by a teacher I was observing was to reassure my students that they are doing a good job by interacting with their home life. A short little phone call out of my time can make all the difference for a student. Just calling home and telling their parents that they had a great day in your class, or sending home a note along the same line. This encourages students to work hard and for those parents it shows them that I am are making an effort to reach out to them. She told me, “even if you are not good at speaking Spanish, showing a little effort as simple as ‘hola, como estas?’ makes their parents all that more comfortable. A little bit of effort on your side really will go along way.”

I have also noticed through observations that the class set up is the first thing you can do right or wrong. It is the base of my teaching and if it is not a comfortable atmosphere for my students then I will be unsuccessful. A warm classroom can make a student feel at home and help them to work diligently in the class. One of the classrooms I observed had a rug that had rows of colors and numbers. This little rug had so many ways of organizing her students and it was something I wanted to bring into my classroom. Having the rules posted in the room has also been very successful in many of the classes I visited. By doing this you are setting standards for yours students and they know from day one right from wrong. Having different areas was also a big hit. It gave the students choices of where they were comfortable when learning. It kept the excitement in the classroom as well.

Another thing that really stuck out to me in the classroom this past semester was the “Mrs. Cunningham’s Classroom Rules” video. It shows how rules can be used positively. When you use them in this way, kids are more willing to follow them. This video was also so creative in how it showed the way all teachers should view and teach their classrooms. My classroom will be accepting to all. My student’s will also learn that understanding. Colors are colors and they do not mean anything and they should all use their imaginations when using them.

I have learned a lot through this class from, observations, readings, videos, and notes that I would like to bring into my own classroom one day. This class has brought a lot of knowledge to me and has excited me for my career to come. The classroom is a place where everyone sits equally. It is open to suggestions and learning from one another everyday. It is fun, and a place where no one should ever be embarrassed. It is bright and full of excited young learners. The classroom is the safe place and I hope to make mine one in the near future.