As an educator, I believe teaching revolves around compassion for children and enthusiasm for learning. I want every student to know that I care for their wellbeing and want them to be successful. It is important to me to create and maintain genuine connections with each student. Nothing is better than having an inside joke or a fun story to constantly reference. These connections continue to grow by finding out more about students’ interests and incorporating those interests into daily curriculum. The little anecdotes and random facts from students can spin the classroom into a meaningful discussion or a creative writing machine. I take pride in building this rapport in the classroom and will constantly convey that I am proud of my students’ accomplishments.

While I create a fun classroom environment where students feel safe to voice their opinions and explore their own interest, I also value a rigorous curriculum pace. I want students to strive to achieve more and expand their knowledge beyond the basic curriculum. Connections between subject content and the real world is fascinating and students internalize information better when they see the purpose of it. Students need to have real experiences in the classroom that use their critical thinking skills, like forming a staged scene where they are prompted to figure out what has happened. This experience leaves a lasting impression and a real moment to refer back to and learn from. Creating these meaningful moments in the classroom and planning from students’ passions can open and flourish any student’s mind.

Behind the scenes, I hold myself to high expectations. An alluring quality of this career is the existence of an endless pursuit for achieving perfection. There are infinitely many ways to teach a single topic and it is exciting to revamp each lesson. Whether I collaborate with colleagues or research on my own time, I have the chance to master each topic I teach. This gives me the opportunity to design instruction in order to reach every student.

Teaching is exciting and working with students is fun. Everyday I give enthusiasm to each subject and every lesson. I enjoy moving around the room and getting students involved in their learning. I want students to invest in their ideas as much as I want them to invest in themselves. The goal in one academic year is to show students what they are capable of doing on their own and helping them flourish as an individual. Students will move forward each year yet I hope to make a lasting impression of words of wisdom for them. I hope to have affected their lives, as I know they will come to affect mine. The bittersweet heartbreak at the end of each year shows me each moment of difficulty is worthwhile to see students progress to the next academic year.