If you only remember one line from my philosophy let it be this: I believe in my students.
I believe that the ultimate goal in education is to teach students how to think critically about their world. The world we live in is so vast and the questions it sparks so infinite, that it would be impossible for any teacher to address all of them during a lifetime, let alone a school year. Instead, I aim to offer my students the ability to answer these questions themselves by building on critical thinking skills across subjects using eclectic instructional strategies and approaches. However, before instruction can even begin I believe that I must carefully reflect upon my behavior and attitude, the environment, and the curriculum to ensure the highest success possible.
I believe that my attitude is the single most influential tool I have in the classroom. I want to share my enthusiasm about learning with my students by getting to know them as individuals and celebrating their various interests. Our students are very perceptive and pick up on our attitudes towards teaching. I want to be a positive role model for them; someone who spends their time actively making the school a better place. I want to show my students that I am effective communicator with my colleagues and administration and will offer them the same respect during our own interactions.
I believe that a classroom should be full of life, purposeful in design, and as much the student's home as it is mine. Creating a fun and enjoyable place to work can do wonders to motivate both students and teachers alike. My classroom will not be a dictatorship; rather the students will have active roles in setting up the guidelines therefore creating a deeper sense of accountability. My background in behaviorism has made me the very consistent person I am today. I have high expectations for behavior and feel very confident in my students to meet them. I think that being consistent is a wonderful trait to have as a teacher as my students will have a much safer and predictable environment. With set boundaries, routines, and procedures our classroom community can focus on more enjoyable learning and creative activities.
The content being offered to my students will be quality material with lessons that are thoroughly thought out and focused. I believe in using teacher’s manuals as guides and reference books rather than daily dispensers of cookie cutter lessons. In order to support valuable critical thinking skills I will try to design lessons are relatable to real life issues and support authentic experiences for my students. I want my students to understand that learning is a continuous process that is lifelong and indefinite. I plan on being very open with them that I am not always right and do not have all the answers. I aspire to show them that the critical thinking skills they are learning are the same ones I use to navigate my way through life.
As my students will certainly come from various backgrounds and beliefs I plan on creating a classroom community that celebrates diversity and varying perspectives from the get go. By examining subjects from multiple angles my students will naturally develop a more comprehensive view of any subject they are studying. I feel that cooperative learning should play a huge role in the classroom. Students have priceless knowledge to offer each other and we should provide them an opportunity for this type of learning. Students are in school not only to gain academic knowledge but also to learn the art of effective communication, and what better place to start then with their peers.
Not only do lessons need to be worthwhile, but so do assessments. Assessment has become a dirty word in education and I aim to change that in my classroom. I want my students to understand that assessments are not an evaluation of their self worth, not always a clear depiction of their knowledge, nor the end all-be all in determining the outcome of their future. My intention is to create assessments that are reliable and valid through constant reflection and evaluation of my lesson objectives and goals. I will utilize assessments that are consistently allowing my students to showcase their critical thinking skills by constructing questions that are in line with higher levels of thinking.
I don’t believe that learning stops when the bell rings at the end of the day. Parents and other community members are critical parts of student learning and should be communicated with regularly. In addition to communicating via e-mail, the phone, and send home folders, I plan on creating an interactive web page for my parents to access. This page will contain homework, curriculum & materials information, quick communications, and parental resource pages for their review.
Ultimately it is not what I believe in, but who. I believe in my community members, my colleagues, and my administrators. More importantly, I believe in myself. Most important of all, I believe in my students.
~Maxine Rohrman
I believe that the ultimate goal in education is to teach students how to think critically about their world. The world we live in is so vast and the questions it sparks so infinite, that it would be impossible for any teacher to address all of them during a lifetime, let alone a school year. Instead, I aim to offer my students the ability to answer these questions themselves by building on critical thinking skills across subjects using eclectic instructional strategies and approaches. However, before instruction can even begin I believe that I must carefully reflect upon my behavior and attitude, the environment, and the curriculum to ensure the highest success possible.
I believe that my attitude is the single most influential tool I have in the classroom. I want to share my enthusiasm about learning with my students by getting to know them as individuals and celebrating their various interests. Our students are very perceptive and pick up on our attitudes towards teaching. I want to be a positive role model for them; someone who spends their time actively making the school a better place. I want to show my students that I am effective communicator with my colleagues and administration and will offer them the same respect during our own interactions.
I believe that a classroom should be full of life, purposeful in design, and as much the student's home as it is mine. Creating a fun and enjoyable place to work can do wonders to motivate both students and teachers alike. My classroom will not be a dictatorship; rather the students will have active roles in setting up the guidelines therefore creating a deeper sense of accountability. My background in behaviorism has made me the very consistent person I am today. I have high expectations for behavior and feel very confident in my students to meet them. I think that being consistent is a wonderful trait to have as a teacher as my students will have a much safer and predictable environment. With set boundaries, routines, and procedures our classroom community can focus on more enjoyable learning and creative activities.
The content being offered to my students will be quality material with lessons that are thoroughly thought out and focused. I believe in using teacher’s manuals as guides and reference books rather than daily dispensers of cookie cutter lessons. In order to support valuable critical thinking skills I will try to design lessons are relatable to real life issues and support authentic experiences for my students. I want my students to understand that learning is a continuous process that is lifelong and indefinite. I plan on being very open with them that I am not always right and do not have all the answers. I aspire to show them that the critical thinking skills they are learning are the same ones I use to navigate my way through life.
As my students will certainly come from various backgrounds and beliefs I plan on creating a classroom community that celebrates diversity and varying perspectives from the get go. By examining subjects from multiple angles my students will naturally develop a more comprehensive view of any subject they are studying. I feel that cooperative learning should play a huge role in the classroom. Students have priceless knowledge to offer each other and we should provide them an opportunity for this type of learning. Students are in school not only to gain academic knowledge but also to learn the art of effective communication, and what better place to start then with their peers.
Not only do lessons need to be worthwhile, but so do assessments. Assessment has become a dirty word in education and I aim to change that in my classroom. I want my students to understand that assessments are not an evaluation of their self worth, not always a clear depiction of their knowledge, nor the end all-be all in determining the outcome of their future. My intention is to create assessments that are reliable and valid through constant reflection and evaluation of my lesson objectives and goals. I will utilize assessments that are consistently allowing my students to showcase their critical thinking skills by constructing questions that are in line with higher levels of thinking.
I don’t believe that learning stops when the bell rings at the end of the day. Parents and other community members are critical parts of student learning and should be communicated with regularly. In addition to communicating via e-mail, the phone, and send home folders, I plan on creating an interactive web page for my parents to access. This page will contain homework, curriculum & materials information, quick communications, and parental resource pages for their review.
Ultimately it is not what I believe in, but who. I believe in my community members, my colleagues, and my administrators. More importantly, I believe in myself. Most important of all, I believe in my students.
~Maxine Rohrman