Education has always been my greatest passion.

In first grade, my teacher would ask that

I turn to my neighbor and reexplain activities that she had just introduced. In seventh grade, I
was asked to walk new students around my middle school building and provide a comfortable
transitional experience, through describing its many functions. Today, I continue to be the
student who my peers turn to in the event that they are unsure of the purpose of an assignment, or
simply when one is due and I love it. I enjoy being the person who others are confident that
they can depend on for information regarding assignments, and clarity of their purposes. This
notion is partially why I want to educate. I want to be a mentor, guide, facilitator and ally to my
students. Throughout my life, education has always been the one thing that I was confident I
could depend onboth for emotional, and academic support. Regardless of events occurring
within my life outside of its walls, I knew that, if desired, I could turn to my school building and
be surrounded by caring adults, in a setting where I could be completely myself. It is through
education that I have discovered my most valued beliefs, cognitive abilities, and areas where I
am in need of improvement. Education has provided me with opportunities to be adventurous,
and the confidence to sometimes fail; it has been through academics that I have found both my
greatest satisfactions, and challenges. I feel it is important that each child experiences these same
emotions through learning. I will lead my students to develop self-awareness through providing a
comfortable, safe learning environment, where they are confident to explore their limits;
challenge themselves consistently; and be completely themselves, with open-minds, as they
discover what being themselves truly means to them.
I believe that is through an environment in which promotes risk-taking and exploration
that my students will develop this same passion for learning that I so fortunately possess. To
extend my students learning through guidance and positive reinforcement, I will encourage each
of my students to explore both their abilities and surroundings. It is my duty to provide a safe
environment in which my students can confidently take risks, share ideas, and make meaningful
connections between content discussed in class, and the world in which they live. Safety is far
more than organizing my classroom environment in such a way as to prevent injury, although
this is a large component to a classrooms success. Rather, safety involves a student
understanding that, regardless of how they feel or think, they are able to express these emotions
without being ridiculed. While each student learns differently, I do believe that children learn
most effectively within environments that are supportive of modeling and hands-on learning.
Materials such as clay, string, markers and paper will be provided to students; these materials
will be found at each station amongst the classroom, as well as stored within areas easily
accessible to them. If one is to walk into my classroom, one may become overwhelmed in fear
that the room is one of chaos and a lack of structure. However, on the contrary, structure is
based solely on expectations, and a students understanding of how to fulfill these. Therefore,
while my classroom will be one of constant communication, movement, and activity, it will also
be one of structured, student-guided learning. It is through instilling in each of my students the
social norms of our school building, as well as respect for one another, that I will assure they are
not restricted by my rules, but, rather, able to explore in a secure way because of the list of rules
presence. Although I grasp the need for children at a young developmental age to learn the rules
that they will need to follow as to appropriately conduct themselves in particular social settings, I
refuse to micromanage my students to the extent that they are unable to explore their own limits.

I will explain to my students why it is important to stand in lines, share, and raise their hands
prior to speaking, versus simply dictating that they complete each of these tasks in a way that is
seemingly meaningless. This way, our classroom environment will be one of free discovery; yet,
also, rich in organization and respect. Furthermore, as I hope I have made evident, I choose not
to refer to my classroom as in fact mine. Rather, the classroom is ours, and I make a
conscious effort to assure that each of my students are aware that it is, in fact, their space.
I believe that there is no one way in which children learn. Rather, just as unique each
student is, the ways in which knowledge becomes meaningful to them involves this same
complexity. However, through observation, relationship building and flexibility, I am able to
discover the ways in which each of my students retain information most efficiently, and use this
knowledge to adapt my instructional techniques to incorporate these differences. I will give my
students choices on how to approach specific lessons, and will provide frequent brain breaks
where students are able to freely communicate, and reflect on content discussed in class.
Guidelines of particular activities will be repeated a multitude of times, and, during transitions
from station to station, students will sing strategy songs relating to content previously
introduced. This task will display that each student is on task, participating, and developing an
understanding on content previously introduced in an enjoyable way. I will scaffold my students
when necessary to reach a particular answer, and it will depend on the specific lesson which of a
variety of instructional techniques I will use. Play, in all forms, will also be at the center of each
of my lessons. I will guide my students on a path where they are able to explore through play, yet
also achieve the particular learning that is intended. Our lessons will be organized in a sequential
manner, and I will explain to my students both at the start of our day, as well as through
summarizing as the day proceeds, what the purposes of each are. Prior to any given lesson, I will
develop a timeline of my own life. In doing so, I will fill-in experiences in which I have
undergone, and, as a particular lesson arises, attempt to make connections between my own life,
and the concepts in which I am attempting to explain. I believe that students learn best when
there is an object or story that they are able to connect such learning with. It is for this reason, as
well as the fact that it encourages the use of their imaginations, that I will promote frequent
storytelling within my classroom. I feel that students are only able to learn when given the
freedom to do so through reflecting on their own, as well as their peers, experiences. Therefore,
discussion will also be at the core of each of my lessons, and by focusing on students emotions
and assuring their relation to content, each of my students will be provided the most
individualized learning experience possible. As an educator, I am to instill compassion into each
of my students.Through remaining flexible and open-minded, I will encourage open-ended
responses in order to gain clear insight into the ways in which they each think and feel. As both
an active listener and observer, I will assure that I understand each of my students on a relational
level, and create ways to make my lessons relevant to each of their lives. Teaching is an act that,
I feel, should be one that promotes all of the fun and wonders that learning can bring. With this
element not at the center of each of my lessons, I cannot fathom that such instructional strategies
would be ones of success.
I will reach the diversity of all children in my classroom through assuring that,
throughout each of my lessons, there is a large focus on all the positives in which a community
of diversity holds, and on the notion that variety is always more profitable than anything

ordinary. Diversity is an invaluable resource to all students, regardless of cultural backgrounds or

belief systems. By promoting a sense of dignity in ones diversity to all of my students, I will be
creating a classroom environment in which children value their peers, as well as their own,
unique attributes and experiences. In doing so, I will provide the guidance needed to assist
children in using diversity to their full advantage both as my students, and as successful beings
upon graduating from my classroom. Promoting diversity within my classroom will involve
physical aspects, along with compassionate, emotional support. The appearance of my classroom
will be one in which the inclusion of a multitude of cultures is present. Whether it be through a
rug with a map of the world printed on it, books from around the globe, or decor around the
room displaying significant social leaders of various cultures, through reflecting on my
experiences as a student studying ESL, I will expose my students to diverse media in which they
may not have the fortunate opportunity to view elsewhere. Due to the fact that my classroom will
be one of frequent, open-discussion, a sense of community will be present as students are
encouraged to share their interests, and ways in which their families view specific topics. In the
center of my classroom there will be a large rug displaying a map of the world. While, typically,
this area would be used as a dumping ground for desks, this rug will serve as our class meeting
area. There, as a class, we will discuss foods that we eat at home, ways that we celebrate
holidays, and any cultural aspect in between. In doing so, students will observe first-hand the
amount of diversity that is present right within their own classroom, and, through understanding
this concept, will better grasp the amount of diversity present around the world. I will extend
invitations to members of the community to visit our classroom, as to share with my students
aspects of differing cultures in a credible way. Role-playing to better understand significant
aspects of social-norms present around the globe will be a reoccurring activity within my
classroom. I feel that by engrossing my students to the fullest extent through the use of costumes,
rehearsed lines and hands-on communication, they will better understand how those of cultures
differing than their own are truly not so different at all versus simply reading these
characteristics from a textbook, alone. Culture will be a great element of our classroom. I will
use pictures, name tags, and family trees to assist in personalizing our environment to create a
sense of home, while also community feeling as though each are compliments of one
another, and, therefore, are far more powerful when intertwined than if existing alone.
Sameness is boring. Sameness is unrealistic. Sameness in undesirable and is not
stimulating or interesting. I will teach my students the importance of diversity, trusting their own
ways of thinking, and how to effectively carry out particular activities to meet their unique needs.
I will do so through promoting their own self-directed learning, and ensure that they are able to
value their own individualities for the beauty that they, inevitably, hold. Education should also
not be a race. Rather, education should be composed of individual goals and expectations, and
my classroom will be organized in such a way as to promote intrinsic motivation, and individual
success. Understanding that the pace in which students learn is, too, unique, I must design my
lessons in such a way as to refrain from holding any one child back, while also failing to push
any student from sincere understanding. My students will be equipped with the tools and support
needed to explore their limits in the classroom. I will be sure to provide my students with
indifferent experiences that, I believe, will assist them throughout the rest of their lives. Through
exploration and trial and error, students are able to discover their specific interests, as well as

both their strengths and needs. Education is intended to allow students to build on their innate,
creative talents, and it is through exposure to open-ended materials and investigation that this is
possible. Confidence building and resourcefulness are each elements of education, and it is
through this process of learning that students gain a foundation from which they then can add on
as they obtain new experiences and grow. Without a sense of diversity within our classroom,
students will be unable to fully understand themselves, and develop the skills needed to
empathize with others a notion that I value tremendously. Simply, education belongs to the
students. If my students learn nothing else from me, I want them to possess the skills needed to
acquire exactly what they desire from life, and I want them to do so in a compassionate manner.