My Philosophy of Teaching English
I believe that every student should feel known, respected, and appreciated, understanding that they play a unique and important role in society. My philosophy of teaching English is to care about the authenticity of the content material as well as the cultivation of the whole student, academically, emotionally, and relationally. I will accomplish this by:
- Learning the passions and talents of my students and using that knowledge to create lessons that are engaging, intentional, and authentic
- Remaining flexible in my teaching and giving students as many opportunities as possible to choose what they learn and how they learn it
- Designing assessments that are meaningful and cater to the individual abilities of each of my students
- Engaging students by supplying a variety of different types of text: newspaper articles, TV/Film clips, literature, poetry, historical pamphlets, etc.
- Providing quick, clear, and constructive feedback that encourages my students to grow and progress
- Incorporating the necessary strategies to scaffold and differentiate based upon the diverse and individual needs of my classroom
- Connecting content to real world experiences, making all reading and all writing relevant and applicable
- Advocating for a classroom environment that emphasizes creativity and collaboration
- Giving students the opportunity to revise assignments and turn them in to be reassessed knowing that the writing process is recursive rather than linear
- Tackling issues of social justice, individually, nationally, and globally and giving students the innovative space to come up with solutions
- Reflecting on my teaching to commit to learning, adjusting, and growing each day
- Staying updated on any new pedagogical strategies, research, and theories
- Networking and reaching out to other educators in order to receive and share new and creative ideas