Kristine M.

Burgess Philosophy of Education I believe that education is not just about academics, but about the whole student. It is not just about what you learn in the classroom, but what you learn from those around you. Education is not just where you learn math, reading, and writing, but it is also where you learn about yourself, the world, and relationships. eachers serve to not only facilitate the learning of academia, but also to guide students on their journey through their own understanding and development. In order to teach students, a teacher needs to truly understand each student and what his!her specific needs may be. I believe that each student is uni"ue and should be treated as an individual. herefore, at the beginning of each year, I ma#e it my mission as the teacher to learn as much as I can about each student both in and out of the classroom. his begins by the $%etting to Know &ou' activities where students fill out information sheets about their learning styles, birthdays, favorite candy, and after school activities. I then ta#e these sheets and write all of their birthdays down in an agenda boo#, so that on their special day I can wish them a very special $(appy Birthday' and remind them that I care. hroughout the course of the school year, I ta#e time out of the day to as# the students about their passions and interests as well as what they did on any given wee#end or vacation. I feel as though having this information about each student allows me to better understand the student, strengthen our student)teacher relationship, and thus better reach them as a teacher. I believe that a teacher plays a uni"ue role in a student*s life, so in addition to getting to #now the students as individuals, I also ma#e it a point to #now as much as I can about my students as learners. +uring any lesson, I observe the way each student wor#s, how they process, how they respond, what insights and "uestions they have. By utili-ing this information, I can design lessons with materials that allow each student to be successful. In any of my classrooms, I could tell you what each student needs in order to be successful from verbal cues to e.tra processing time, or even subtle encouragement. I believe that this information is important, not only in fostering the students* abilities

to feel confident, but also in showing the students that you care about each and every one of them and are willing to do whatever it ta#es to help them. /ith this in mind, the most successful teachers are fle.ible and understanding in their e.pectations and deliverance. 0o student can learn unless they are ready to learn, (ave they eaten1 2re they dressed appropriately1 +id they have a negative encounter before class1 +o they feel safe1 hese are all "uestions that the e.perienced teacher needs to as# him3her4self before beginning any lesson. If there is something prohibiting the student from learning, even the most well)designed and thought)out lessons will not reach the student. 5n any day, a lesson could re"uire last minute adjustments, changes, or complete rewriting. 2 good teacher needs to be ready to ma#e these changes with the understanding that it will better enable the students. o best reach each student, I try to gauge what each student already brings to the table. Before beginning any lesson, I as# the class what they already #now as well as how they feel about a topic. 0ot only are their responses indicative of what I should focus on in our lessons, but they also give me a chance to e.plore how truly ama-ing my students are in their thoughts and opinions. his information then guides our lesson and learning e.perience. Each student is their own person, trying to learn academic content as well as rules for life. eachers are one of the most important guides on this journey. 2 teacher could just as easily destroy a student as build a student. 6o, we need to be fle.ible, compassionate, understanding, and yet demanding. /e need to push our students to be the best people that they can be, but we also need to reali-e that this means different realities for each student. /e need to help them embrace their strengths and passions and show them how best to accommodate for their wea#nesses so that they can be successful no matter what. Education is a collaboration and we need to wor# together to reach our potentials.