One Man's Philosophy on Education

I am a believer that all students are special and should be treated with love and respect. We must love them enough to forgive them when they are not perfect while also loving them enough to guide the students as unique individuals. As a teacher I know that there are two very important factors that play a large role in a successful classroom. The first is the affective side and the second is achievement/performance. It is very important in the classroom to establish a relationship with each and every individual. I want to find out what each student is passionate about. Conversation about there passion is also quite useful as I monitor the hall between classes. When I see some behavior that needs to be modified, it is much easier just to strike up a positive conversation about their individual passion.

One should never underestimate the importance of having a positive relationship with both students and parents. You do not want your first communication with the parent or student to be an altercation. I strongly encourage all teachers to contact parents in the first three weeks of school. A positive contact early in the year, just to say I am interested in your child, goes a long way to build the teaming concept of middle school education.
The affective side of education is very natural and comfortable for me. After I establish a relationship with parents and students I know that I am on the right track. Now it is time to discuss the academic and performance expectation. I believe that all of my students need to be challenged just beyond the point where they are. The use of formative assessments is used in my classroom daily. It is important at this point to let students know the outcomes and standards that we will be meeting for the school year and again before each unit.
Meeting these standards is our main goal. Then it is time to get ready for the ride of a life -time. Think of the possibilities. Most of our journeys involve students getting engaged with their own learning in cooperative groups. It is here that I will use formative assessments to find out if they understand the importance of: cooperation, leadership, communication, efficiency, and accuracy. Their engagement almost always involves high-level thinking , critical thinking or problem solving.
When the affective objectives along with the academic objectives are met, we have a perfect meeting of both worlds and that alone is reward enough for me.