"The possibilities are endless when you have the tools you need to learn"

My philosophy of education is that all students are unique and therefore, must be provided with the educational tools to grow physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially by active experimentation. I desire to create a learning atmosphere immersed in literature where all students can reach their full potential by asking questions that arise from experiences. I will provide students with a safe environment where each student will feel invited to share their ideas and take learning risks. I believe five key elements are essential in creating a literacy immersed classroom environment where learning to effectively read is driven by student interest and questions.

An ideal classroom environment is one that is immersed in quality literature. In this, students can use the teacher as a guide and mentor, have access to quality literature, have a choice when it comes to facilitating their learning, have opportunities to practice skills in a safe learning environment, and be exposed to literature each school day. In this, students will see me as a mentor, approachable in times of struggle, a good listener in times of need, and as someone who will go above and beyond to provide students the learning tools they need to succeed. Thus, my educational ideals would be put into practice.

My goal as an educator is to provide students with the tools they need to reach their full potential. I will achieve my goal by creating a student-driven learning environment that focuses on literacy, base learning plans on a balanced literacy approach, allow students to facilitate their learning, use appropriate assessment tools, and create space for children's literature. In this, I can build a strong Language Arts program for elementary students of varying learning needs by exposing students to phonemic awareness instruction, systematic phonics instruction, methods to improve fluency, key vocabulary words to aid reading ability, and strategies to comprehension.

Literacy Statement

"Pedagogical Literacy Statement"

The course materials within my education class this semester as well as meetings with my mentor teacher has informed my learning through stressing the importance of the National Reading Panel within a classroom environment. I strongly believe that the incorporation of the National Reading Panel within elementary English Language Arts programs constitutes a quality education for students of all learning needs, and or demands. Within this, I will explicitly expose students individually and collaboratively to phonemic awareness instruction, systematic phonics instruction, methods to improve fluency, key vocabulary words to aid reading ability, and strategies to comprehension. I believe my next step in constituting an effective English Language Arts program for elementary students is by drawing on the course content within my education classes this year, taking the advice from my mentor teacher, and using my personal experiences to incorporate the National Reading Panel areas into my future classroom to shape all students into effective readers.