I believe in the importance of educating the whole child. I recognize and value virtues such as integrity, respect, cooperation, honesty, responsibility, accountability, compassion and fairness. Diverse learning needs, styles, and abilities must be considered in the learning process. Students need opportunities to develop strong interpersonal and relational skills. Equally important is the need for children to have and maintain a healthy balance in their lives. They need role models at home, at school, and in the community to assist in achieving this balance.
I believe children need an environment in which they can be happy, healthy, focused learners. They must feel stimulated and be collaborative partners in creating their learning environment. Students need to be encouraged to work toward independence, to be open-minded, responsible, critical thinkers to further their own learning. In addition, students need to be aware of how they learn best so they are empowered to optimize their own learning environment and practices.
I believe students need to know how to use resources to gain information, solve problems and progress. They need to evaluate, analyze, and synthesize ideas and data. Students must use their critical thinking skills, moral values, and abilities to apply their knowledge and skills in everyday life situations.
I believe teaching and learning should be student-centered and inquiry based where the instruction and assessment tasks are personally relevant and applicable to “real-world” situations. When students connect their learning to the world around them they become actively engaged in the learning process and generalize the information that has been imparted to them. High-quality teaching and learning supports all learners. Assessing where students are, meeting them at their level, and moving them to the next ensures that students achieve a high level of success, which enables them to become productive, principled, internationally minded members of society.
My educational philosophy embraces the needs of the whole child. Building a culture within the learning community where students co-construct and self-adjust their learning experiences develops self-efficacy, fosters a greater sense of learning ownership and contributes to their social, emotional and cognitive growth. A school environment that is physically, socially, and emotionally stimulating lays the foundation for student achievement that knows no bounds.
