I have always been interested in
teaching. When I was just a little girl, I used to come home from school each
day and "play school" with my younger sister. I, of course, was the
teacher, and she, my apt pupil. My parents had bought us a portable chalkboard
which I used to re-create what my teachers had drawn on their chalkboards that
day in school. Even now, 30 years later, I can still remember the joy I
received from "teaching" my sister what I had learned. There is a
running joke in my family that my teaching was the reason my sister was able to
skip 3rd grade! (I personally think there is some truth to this, although my
sister doesn't like to share the credit!)
It wasn't until I was
in my late 20s that I truly considered becoming a teacher. I was moving to a
small town here in South Dakota, from the Big Apple, where I had been
performing in a band and studying theater. I knew that I wouldn't have much
luck in Ramona, SD as a singer and had to come up with a "real job".
Teaching was the first and only thing I considered. I had always loved being a
student. School was a place where I could learn about the world. I used to
joke, that I would love to have been a professional college student taking
every interesting class I could find. I think it was my love of learning as
well as my experience with theater that made becoming a teacher seem like a
perfect fit for me. I had taught children's theater at summer camps before and
knew how rewarding teaching could be.
Once I began to study teaching, my
ideas and philosophies began to form. Each year, as I have learned more and
more about whom I am as a teacher my philosophies have evolved. I expect that
they will continue to evolve throughout the rest of my career. Even as my
teaching philosophy changes, three themes have held strong: Collaboration,
Technology Integration, and Leadership are each areas in which I feel that I,
as a teacher, must be vigilant.
Collaboration has been a key
component to education since the beginning of human learning. I believe that humans
are meant to learn from each other and with each other. I have seen proof of
this every day as a teacher and as a mother. I see proof of this every day when
I watch my two year-old son play with his friends. He learns so much from
interacting with his peers. Before he went to daycare, my husband and I were
proud of his every accomplishment because we knew we were directly involved in
his every learning experience. Once he started interacting with peers, it was
amazing at how much he could learn and how quickly. He comes home and almost
daily amazes us with what he has picked up from his little buddies at daycare.
Education is much like my son's daycare in that if it is successful, the
knowledge one can acquire seems to have no end and can add up exponentially.
When my students practice Spanish together, I can hear them working together to
create new understanding. Language is essentially communication between people,
so the subject lends itself to collaboration in every aspect. I use different
types of collaborative learning in my lessons every day. There are a multitude
of collaborative tools that allow my students to collaborate not only with
myself and each other, but with people anywhere in the world. Collaboration is
not only important to me as a teacher when teaching my students, but as a
professional. Collaborating with my peers makes me a better teacher,
collaborating with community members makes me a better community member, and
collaborating with my friends and family makes me a better person. Technology
has made collaboration at every level achievable.
Technology Integration has also been
an important theme. Technology has always amazed me and continues to amaze me.
Technology in education has made things that were once unimaginable not only possible
but commonplace in today's schools. Students all over the world have access to
learning that had never been available before. The world and its wealth of
knowledge are now at the fingertips of anyone who wants it. This is remarkable
to me! I believe that through education comes opportunity and as technology
helps to bring education to more and more people, more opportunities also
become available to so many who may not have had an opportunity otherwise. Here
in Madison, South Dakota, many of my students have never had access to other
cultures, ways of life, and languages. I try to use technology to bring the
world to my students. Technology has also helped make the day to day lessons in
my classroom easier to teach and easier to implement. Technologies such as
on-line books, hand-held answering devices, internet, interactive websites,
classroom management systems, grading portals, collaborative tools, and
interactive teacher's manuals, have made learning and teaching much more
dynamic. Although there is an immense amount of media and material to wade
through and navigate, the possibilities are endless when planning a lesson!
The last theme that has remained a
strong part of my philosophy is Technology Leadership. I believe that my role
as a teacher in not only as a guide but as a leader. Teachers must be leaders
in their classrooms as well as in their communities. My Masters in Education
Technology qualifies me to be a leader and advocate for proper technology use
in my district. Technology in its many forms and with its many uses may be the
innovation that boosts education as no other tool ever has. Since the invention
of the printing press, technology has made education more and more accessible.
If education is to be considered "The Great Equalizer" as I believe
it to be, then technology is its fiercest weapon. Although technology has
brought so much to education, it must be used wisely. Educational technologies
are only as good as the people who use them, manipulate them, and apply them
wisely.
When combined, collaboration,
technology leadership, and technology integration can make the classroom a
powerful place. I hope to foster learning environment where students are able
to collaborate with myself, each other, and others throughout the world. In my
classroom, I hope to inspire my students as a leader in learning. I hope to
show through my example that learning is a life-long endeavor, one which can
bring much joy throughout one's life. I hope to provide and integrate
technologies that will help guide my students throughout their search for
knowledge.
