What are students capable of? Concerning the nature of a student: I believe that students are able to think, improve, seek out knowledge, show generosity, express themselves in multiple ways and are creatures of creation. I also believe that students can be sacrificial, generous, compassionate towards classmates, loving, and in fact can live in relation with one another in community. I believe students have the power to invoke change to the world around them. In short I know the student to be capable, full of potential, and truly willing to succeed. My beliefs about students influence my decisions in both the procedures of my classroom and the planning of my lessons in literature, writing, and other English studies. My classroom procedures will be centered on the understanding that students desire a community in which to grow and relate. My class room design will feature pods, or sections of desks where students have a small group to work with. Additionally my classroom will have a variety of spaces: one for creation, one for writing, and one for questioning the world around them through current events, webquests, and other activities, as well as a discussion/forum space for meaningful interactions with peers by discussing topics. I believe that students desire justice, forgiveness, mercy, and compassion both for themselves and for their classmates. Therefor my students will play a key role in deciding what class rules should be enforced – my students will create a list of class policies that way every voice is heard and included in the community building of the classroom. Additionally I believe that every student wants to interact with the community surrounding them. Therefor I will take interest in their activities outside my classroom and integrate class projects that all the students to engage and interact with the immediate community around them in beneficial and meaningful ways, such as a Service Learning Projects and student designed and facilitated after school activities/programs/clubs.
How does knowledge of students affect lesson planning and classroom procedures? My planning of lessons is directly affected by my beliefs about the capabilities of a student. My lessons will include recognition of the student’s ability to identify character traits of one another and of characters in literature we read. I will draw upon the student’s ability to empathize and critically analyze a characters position and draw connections to their community or personal experiences. Concerning Literature: I believe that literature is an essential aspect of the English curricula. Literature teaches empathy, gives students examples of how to navigate situations they have yet to encounter, and allows for a lens in which to see the past, the present. Literature is a vehicle for history and for human relation. Literature allows students to gain perspective on other culture, topics, and communities. I believe that literature is essential to students as they navigate through their formative years and seek wisdom and knowledge about the world in which they live. Lessons will also include recognition of the student’s ability to create—however they choose to create and how ever often they want to create. Every student will express their ideas differently and I strongly believe in a differentiated instruction approach to education, which was pioneered by Caroline Tomlinson who said, “Differentiation is a teacher’s response to leaner’s needs.” I desire that all students take their role as creator and contributor to society seriously, while refining their talents. I recognize that students will be most motivated if they can find the intrinsic desire to do something well. I will seek to find out what makes my students most excited and incorporate those things into my book choices, project ideas, and additional unit materials. Lessons will provide room for reflection and self-thought by providing opportunities to practice articulating their original thoughts and reactions through daily journaling, writing workshops, and discussions on literature we have read. Additionally I will provide opportunities for public speaking where students may present an argument on a topic. Concerning writing: I believe that every student has the capacity to write, that writing can be taught, and teachers can help students become better writers. I believe that writing is a tool of thinking and that teaching students how to express themselves through writing in a variety of contexts is essential to their success in the world. My writing lessons will tie in closely with my literature lessons as I believe that reading and writing are highly connected. One of the best ways to learn writing is to read good writing in addition to practice. My students will journal daily and participate in at least one writing workshop a week in order to consistently devote time to perfection of their writing skills.