Here is the Statement of Objectives I had to write for my credential program application. I guess it's my "teaching manifesto". I plan to tweak it a bit because I feel like my philosophy has evolved some since I wrote it. I think it would be kind of cool to continue revising it as I gain experience teaching, collaborating, etc.
Why do I wish to become a teacher?
My sincere motivation to become a teacher has stemmed from several sources, including a personal and enduring passion for the craft, a charge towards assuming the role of child advocate on both a personal and academic level, and an aspiration to serve as a catalyst for social change in the hopes that my students will understand and embrace the differences that can be found in all individuals. Throughout my near eight-year higher educational experience, I have considered and explored several career avenues including psychology, philosophy, sociology, and English literature, all of which I took a genuine interest. Despite the passion that I felt in studying these disciplines, there was and still is no match for my genuine enthusiasm and excitement towards teaching. When I envision my life’s professional path, I can see myself as an educator, above all else and although I may choose to pursue my interests in psychology, philosophy, sociology, and English literature in a personal capacity, I feel compelled to make teaching my life-long career.
I have always had a deep love and respect for children, and it is through my future role as an educator that I may serve as their advocate on both a personal and academic level. As a future educator, I will have the opportunity to become closely acquainted with my students as both a teacher and a role model. It is through these capacities that I am sincerely eager to aid my future students in achieving their academic best as a supportive and encouraging figure, regardless of the barriers or obstacles that may come their way. Through my position, I will also serve as a confidant and a caregiver, which will allow me to act as a trusted authority figure and thus qualified to lend emotional support to my students when they need me in this capacity. I sincerely look forward to serving as an advocate to my future students and I am compelled to aid them in any way possible.
It is my hope that through my role as an educator, I may also function as an agent for social change, in order to ultimately make my students better people. As an educator, I have the unique opportunity to aid children in not just merely tolerating the differences that can be found in individuals but leading them on a journey towards understanding and embracing those differences. In using this philosophy, I can establish a basis for securing equality among my students within our future classroom community. In addition, I may also use this philosophy to empower my future students in their own work for equality and equal opportunity for all. Children are the future of our world and it is my sincere aspiration to lead them toward making it a more peaceful place.
In using my personal and academic experience as a vehicle, I plan to contribute new perspectives to often overlooked subject areas such as multicultural education as facilitated through a social justice lens, insights into culturally sensitive and relevant literacy instruction, and a drive to create professional connections with my colleagues in order to establish meaningful and effective collaboration. As a new educator, I believe that I can bring a fresh perspective to the field that places a major emphasis on the incorporation of multicultural education and the perpetuation of social justice work in the classroom. As a new teacher, I will overtly and deliberately incorporate multicultural education into the very fabric of the curriculum, making sure that all of my students’ ethnic and cultural backgrounds are represented, understood and embraced by the collective classroom community. In order to facilitate this type of instruction, I plan to regularly recognize the notable contributions that people of color have made to the world across all subject areas rather than isolating these figures to themed months or holidays. I also plan to purposefully highlight the cultural backgrounds from which my students belong and allow them the opportunity to share their cultural experiences at every available opportunity in the hopes that I may create and maintain a classroom community climate that is steeped in a deep appreciation for the differences that can be found amongst my future students.
Through my role as an educator, I hope to contribute alternative ways in which culturally diverse and linguistically sensitive literacy instruction may be successfully facilitated in the classroom. In order to implement this important instruction, I will draw upon the knowledge I have gained through a set of literacy courses in which I participated as part of a specialized concentration at CSUN. As part of one of these courses, focus was placed upon the utilization of Chicano/a children’s literature as a useful literacy-enhancing tool in the classroom. Through the utilization of culturally rich and relevant texts such as these, I will be able to provide my students with opportunities to strengthen their literacy base and understanding of differing cultural experiences and traditions. I will also draw upon my personal experience in helping to facilitate bilingual storytelling events for children as a means by which I may create connections between necessary literacy instruction and cultural relevancy. As the co-founder of a grassroots community literacy program entitled “Stories Under the Stars,” I have worked to provide free storytelling events for families in the community of Boyle Heights, which focuses on connecting literacy building through bilingual storytelling and art instruction. Through this experience, I have gained insight into how best to begin supporting bilingual students in my future classroom while exposing my English-speaking students to culturally relevant literacy materials. It is through these experiences that I hope to contribute potentially new and alternative methods to effective literacy instruction.
As a future educator, I believe in the necessity of forging connections with my colleagues in order to facilitate effective collaboration and it is my hope that this appreciation for building professional partnerships will be a positive contribution to the education field. When I begin my professional career as an educator, I will excitedly turn to my colleagues as valuable and experienced resources who can act as guides through my first years in the profession. In exchange, I plan to offer my own insights, ideas, and resources to contribute to my more seasoned colleagues in order to offer a fresh perspective to their own instruction. In my opinion, it is imperative that educators combine their collective resources, ideas, and plans of action to ensure that the academic interests of students are addressed appropriately and effectively. It is my hope that this contribution of collaboration and partnership will be beneficial to the teaching field.
As a future educator, I plan to achieve the effective transmission of information to my students while helping them to foster their own critical thinking skills, the formation of bonds with my students and their families, and the construction of a safe, supportive, and positive environment to maximize student learning. My ultimate goal as a future educator is to ensure that my students receive the most effective and relevant instruction possible. It will be my responsibility to transmit knowledge and information that is clear and meaningful and I must always take the time to make certain my students understand what is being conveyed. At the same time, it is also my responsibility to draw upon the knowledge that my students already possess and to encourage them to use this knowledge in novel and extraordinary ways. Through this joint effort, it is my goal that my students will take with them the critical thinking skills that are necessary for future academic and personal success.
An essential component of successful student learning is the role of the family and my goal as a future educator is to forge bonds with the families of my students in order to foster more effective learning outcomes and to create a close-knit classroom community. Without the support of parents and families, the infinite possibilities for student achievement can be limited. However, when parents and families feel connected and valued as members of the classroom community, their participation and support has the potential to be limitless and can positively contribute to successful and fruitful learning for students. It is a goal of mine that the parents and families of my students feel connected and wanted in my classroom space and I will do everything in my power to gain their support.
Finally, I hope to achieve the creation of a positive, healthy, and supportive classroom environment for my students. In order to facilitate successful and effective learning, students must feel comfortable and welcome in my classroom. If I do not establish a sense of safety and calm within this space, my students will not be able to achieve at their fullest potentials. It is from my own personal experience that students have much difficulty focusing on their learning process when their classroom environment is tense, uncomfortable, and negative. Instead, I hope to set a tone from the very beginning that my classroom is a space where students can feel at safe and at ease. By creating this type of nonthreatening space, I hope to maximize student learning and student wellbeing.
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