My goal as a teacher is to help students grow as learners to the best of their individual ability. Their success should not be measured against anything but the curriculum, and certainly not against another student. I believe that accommodations are not only necessary, but may actually be preferred if that means a student can achieve the same objective but in a way that will showcase their knowledge in a more accurate and fair light.
Part of accommodating is being fair and equitable, and for these qualities to be met in a classroom, the right environment must be created. My goal as an educator is to bring a class together by creating an inclusive environment within the classroom based on each student’s individual progress. The goal is to create a classroom that grows and supports one another, through both peer support and through individual attention to each student. This also means that the classroom should be open and welcoming to everyone, and allows students to feel safe to express themselves and challenge themselves and take risks.
My lesson planning revolves greatly around the idea of the Universal Design for Learning, this model could arguably be considered the best available to teachers today. Embracing the students’ voices when planning is an incredibly valuable tool to increase engagement, and UDL’s emphasis on the school as the third institutional pillar in students’ lives is incredibly important. Family and the community are just as important in the school as the teachers are, and ignoring this trait would be extremely damaging to the students’ potential learning.
A teacher must become a guide for students, so that they can explore and inquire in ways that reflect their own values as individuals, and to help foster growth as these students enter the world as members of society. This individual growth and drive towards self-efficacy is paramount when thinking of the student as whole people that will one day contribute their own work to the world.
Shelby's Teaching Portfolio 