Lindsay Gundlah

“By learning I will teach…

I remember the year that I got my very own dry erase art easel for Christmas. I
don’t think I could have ever been more excited than I was that morning. However,
this art easel wasn’t going to be used for drawing pictures or doing art, it was going to
be used to write out vocabulary words, do math problems, and create assignments. I
was going to use this dry erase easel as my teaching tool, to teach my classroom, the
walls of my basement and the stuffed animals I lined up to act as my students.
Growing up, I played school as much as I possibly could. All I needed was my
dry erase board, a little imagination and something to “teach”. So, after I would finish
my homework for the night, I would take my completed worksheets downstairs to my
dry erase board and go over them. I would go through each problem, write them out
on the board, and work through them, talking aloud to my class, just like a real
teacher would.
As the years went by, my dry erase easel saw less use, but I never stopped
pretending that I was in the classroom. Throughout middle school and high school, I
found that I learned best when I repeated problems, took time to read aloud through
the questions, and then slowly work step by step so I truly understood exactly what I
was doing. I still use this method today. Unlike many college kids, I enjoy writing out
study guides for myself, I love making flashcards, and I actually enjoy redoing math
problems and talking them out as I go. I have found that I learn best when I am
teaching and I do not plan to stop anytime soon.
For me, to learn is to teach, and as I begin my journey as a real teacher, I must
never forget to learn along the way.

As a teacher, I must learn how each student learns best.

Not all students are able to learn the same. Some have to move to learn, some have
to read to learn, and some, like me, have to say things out loud to learn… and that
should be celebrated! Every learner is different, no one is the same. My classroom will
welcome all learners and I will teach for all. Every student has the ability to learn, we
just have to find out how they learn best.

As a teacher, I must learn how to motivate my students.

As students reach Middle and High School, their drive to learn may have faded.
However, I will reignite that light. Learning is supposed to be fun, intriguing, and
interesting. It may be easy to teach by going over notes, however, my classroom will
limit that as much as possible. To love to learn is to explore your learning potential.
Exploration activities will be able to reignite the light in all students, and allow them to
become just a little more accountable for their learning.

As a teacher, I must learn to teach students to think outside of the box.

Every student has the ability to be creative, it depends on if they want to put the effort
in or not. In my classroom, I will find a way to release every student’s ability to think
outside the box. There is never one right answer. Finding one right answer is easy,
thinking outside the box… that’s creativity. When student’s release the creativity in the
classroom, their eyes will be opened to a whole new world. I want every student in my
classroom to be able to see this new world, and to continue to live in it for the rest of
their lives.
[Type here]

As a teacher, I must learn to teach with intention.

In my classroom, I will never hear the words, “I am never going to need this in real life.”
I will teach practically, not theoretically. No student ever wants to know that what
they are learning and being tested on is never going to matter again. To teach
practically is to teach with purpose. In my classroom, I will never teach something
without giving a meaning behind it. Regardless if the topic is the quadratic formula, I
will find a purpose as to why my students should learn with intention.

As a teacher, I must learn to turn my classroom into a community.

Students work better when they work together. In my classroom, no student should
ever be afraid to speak up. Everyone will have a place in my classroom because in
real life, everyone has a role. Incorporating Lev Vygotsky’s Social Learning Theories
into my classroom, I will teach my students that working together promotes thinking,
reasoning, reading and writing. My students will learn that working together is the best
way to accomplish a goal. Group activities and team building activities bring the class
together. Every student learns better when they feel as though others are counting on
them. To be in a community is to be in a classroom.

As a teacher, I must learn to learn.

A good teacher must reflect on the things that take place in their classroom. To be a
teacher is to learn from your successes and failures. In my classroom, I will never settle
for just being an “okay” teacher. I must experiment, try different things, and most
importantly learn from my student’s feedback. This growth mindset as a teacher will
rub off onto my students. My willingness to always learn and grow from my mistakes is
a mindset that my students can benefit from as well. Encouraging a growth mindset in
my classroom will show that it is always best to strive for more. I will always strive to be
a better teacher.

… and by teaching I will learn”

–Latin Proverb