About Me
In spring 2013, I graduated from Western Illinois University with a degree in the Bachelor of Arts with a major in English Education, a minor in creative writing with an emphasis on poetry, and an endorsement in social science and language arts. For the last two years I have taught 7th and 8th grade Language Arts at West Central Middle School in Stronghurst, Illinois with one to one technology. I currently hold a Type 09 Initial Secondary Teaching Certificate and am eager to help students become life long learners. During student teaching I taught both Accelerated Language Arts and Language Arts at a seventh grade suburban middle school in Bloomingdale.
I wish to empower lifelong learners who can interpret, assess, persuade, and demonstrate the skills needed to succeed and flourish in society. In addition, I would like to influence students’ digital and critical literacy through multiple mediums of technology and genres to develop independent readers and thinkers through a student centered environment. Overall, I want students to succeed in and outside the classroom.
My most important reasons for wanting to be a teacher are to make a difference, to show students English is fun and useful, and to connect with students. One of the reasons I want to be a teacher is to make a difference. I want to support students’ academic and social growth. When I was in middle school, I was a struggling reader. It makes all the difference to have teachers who believe in you. I am determined to do the same for students. In addition, I also want to show students English can be fun. I love making real life connections, showing students why they need a skill, and demonstrating how it can be used. On a day to day basis, students interact with reading, writing, and speaking but do not realize the necessity of these skills. I welcome the chance to help students improve these skills, start to realize English’s place in their life, and discover real life connections. Finally, students’ interaction amuses me. I enjoy teaching students, hearing their opinions, answering any type of school based question or even personal questions when appropriate, and seeing them grow socially, academically, and emotionally. Each day I am always surprised by something. It can range from a girl who had only previously talked when she was called on but now volunteered to answer a question with passion in her voice about anti-gang violence, a class of mostly boys enthusiastically dissecting Robert Frost’s poem “Nothing Gold Can Stay,” or falling for a student’s harmless April Fool’s Day joke. Middle school students keep me on my toes and motivate me to become the best teacher I can be.
Teaching Strategies
Constructivist learning is one of the teaching strategies I use. This method fosters critical thinking, creativity, and helps students become independent learners. The responsibility of learning is divided between the student and the teacher. Students create meaning from the lesson and apply the material in and out of the classroom. By producing and supporting their meaning, students learn to think for themselves.
The other teaching strategy I use is collaborative learning. Group work improves students’ social skills while letting students speak more frequently. This builds up students’ confidence and allows students who are shy to speak in low risk settings. Students work in a group but complete independent work towards a common goal. This strategy facilitates higher level thinking and students’ social and academic growth.
Philosophy
My goal is to foster students' academic and social growth through a student centered classroom and project based learning. I believe every student can learn and teach with a mixture of both constructivism and traditionalist practices.
