Key Beliefs and Reflection on "Best 3 Students"

I really enjoyed reflecting on my three best students because it not only called upon good memories, but it also showed me a lot about how I view my students. One of the most obvious observations that I noticed is that each of the students I chose were from my days teaching at Brighton High School. In many ways I view this as a more positive experience than my time at my current school, so I think that the fact that the best students I recalled were from BHS verifies this. However, it makes me also think about the enjoyable students I've had here in PA, and that I should not discredit them. I think it would be worthwhile for me to reflect on my three best students in PA as a follow-up to my first "3 Best" response.

Another aspect of my journal entry that I found to be intriguing is the fact that I chose students of varying races, genders, and ethnic backgrounds when I recalled my three best. This is a huge part of who I am as a teacher, being that one of my key beliefs is that diversity enriches the classroom experience instead of limiting it. I value diversity, and enjoy getting to know students of backgrounds different than myself. Therefore, I am not surprised that I chose a white boy, an African American girl, and a Chinese student when reflecting on my experiences. I also think this is part of the reason why I gravitated to my experiences at BHS rather than in PA, due to the fact that BHS offered a greater range of diversity in the student population than my current district does.

I also think that truly enjoying the population you are working with is a key element to teaching effectively. I know for myself that I am truly interested in teenagers, I tend to understand them more often than not, I like hearing what unique thought or crazy thing they have to say next, and most of the time, I can laugh off something they do- or credit it to an immature moment. If a teacher does not have this sort of respect for the age group she is working with, then the students will be able to sense it and it will lead to her demise. My current mentor said it best when she described the relationships you create as a teacher in the classroom with your students as "electricity"- there needs to be a current back and forth consistently throughout the day, or the students will not want to learn from you. I have learned that the tricky part of this is the fact that you may not have a current with every student right away; just like any relationship, the relationships with my students take time to foster and grow. I have to be patient with myself, yet open to their responses, while we hopefully both move toward greater respect and understanding for each other.

Another aspect of effective teaching is being a model citizen. Relating back to the quote I pulled for this week's e-journal, our philosophy on life will directly impact our philosophy on teaching. I do believe that teachers hold greater responsibility with their actions in a community, because so many members of the community are affected by that one teacher. Therefore, I strive to live my life as honestly as possible, not only for myself, but also for my students, and career. It becomes much too difficult to hold a "new personality" in the classroom than who you are outside of the classroom. Now, I am not saying that everything you do outside of the classroom should be let into the classroom- there are some things that are not the students' business- but my values will remain the same inside and outside of the classroom.

A key belief I have about learning is that it can lead to personal growth and freedom. Learning can lead to personal growth because it demands you to think about something in a new way; whether it is through reading an autobiography or figuring out why the swine flu is spreading, my mind expands so that I can understand my world in a more applicable way. Learning also leads to freedom. I recall a time in my life when I learned about a particular health issue I was dealing with and saw that the symptoms I was experiencing were not abnormal; this freed me from the stigmatized view I had previously held of myself. I hope to pass on these values to my students, whether it is implicitly or explicitly.