Philosophy of Teaching Teaching is both a science and an art.

From the beginning of September to the end of May, the job of a teacher is one of organizing logistics as well as responding to emotion. Relationships are important, but standardized tests still have an influence on a teachers employment. Teachers must artfully manage student struggles while tackling the science of data reading. Ultimately, teaching is the work of helping children grow academically, socially, physically and emotionally. Relationships are the catalysts for learning. Whether you are 8 or 80 years old, you are less likely to learn from someone who is unwilling to make a personal connection with you. Teachers should begin connecting with their students from the moment they walk in the classroom on the first day of school. The classroom should be organized in a way that the teacher can see all students and students can see the teacher. The simple act of seeing the students will inform them that their teacher is interested in what they do and who they are. Students should have a say in how relationships are managed in their classroom. What does it mean to be respectful, helpful, and kind? What is acceptable behavior and what isnt? These rules are far more likely to be followed if students have ownership of them. But the relationships a teacher interacts with dont end outside the classroom. Because parents are the most influential people in a students life, it is imperative that a teacher maintains a positive, cooperative relationship with the parents of each student in their classroom, through communication and personal conferences. It is also important that teachers sustain collaborative, professional relationships with their colleagues. Another connection that is essential for teachers to preserve is one with their principal. This relationship should always have clear boundaries for what is expected, and a teacher should consistently exhibit a respectful and cooperative attitude toward the principal. The academic and behavioral environments of a classroom are closely connected, and the teacher is the facilitator of both. A teacher should work first with the school to see what kind of behavioral models are expected in the school. Principals and administrators should be collaborators in the process of building your classrooms community. PBIS behavior models as well as positive reinforcement are valuable behavior management strategies. Explicit and consistent classroom expectations should be readily available to learn back on when dealing with behavior issues in the classroom. The positive relationships built with students should be the foundation of all behavior management. Academically, a teachers job is again both an art and a science. The curriculum guides given by the state, district, or school should help a teacher design assessments and collect data that give information on each students progress. There should be a science to collaborating with colleagues and in differentiating instruction for students at different levels. But the delivery of instruction is an art. Teachers should not read curriculum guides word-for-word. The relationships teachers create with their students should assist teachers in planning instruction to engage each student. Giving students the opportunity to share their own background knowledge and opinions is a sure way to make content more applicable to them. Teachers should also make an effort to take the information in a curriculum guide and show it to students in a way that is usable in and relevant to their lives.