Brooke Farley Philosophy of Education A good teacher can inspire hope, ignite the imagination, and instill a love

of learning. Brad Henry With this quote, Brad Henry perfectly defined the very essence of the teaching profession. To be a good teacher means more than reciting information from a textbook, in front of a classroom full of students. Teachers must have the ability to engage all students in every lesson, inspire them to reach their full potential, and spark a creativity to think outside the box. A good teacher ill make students ant to come to school each day. The thing ! believe to be most important is the a areness of the unique qualities possessed by each student. "ach student has different strengths, eaknesses, and areas of interest. These defining characteristics can easily be seen after a very short time ith the students. !n spite of often ma#or differences, all students can learn. !t is my #ob as a teacher to find a ay to engage every student in every lesson. ! believe experience is the best teacher, therefore, ! plan lessons that could more accurately be described as experiences. When students are able to learn through experiential opportunities, they ill likely remember the information much better. $earning from experiences allo s the students to create or adapt schemas for long term memory. ! use verbal, visual, tactile, and technological elements in every lesson. This ensures students are actively engaged as information is presented in several manners. %tudents receive the information in a variety of manners, hich allo s them to experience it in several ays. By having multiple exposures to content, students are at an advantage to learn. ! plan to use a hole&brain teaching approach in my classroom. "very lesson ill engage the hole brain, hich equates to a higher success rate. %tudents ill have many fun opportunities to be active hile learning valuable information. %tudents ill play an active role

in my classroom. They ill help to create the classroom rules, hich ill be discussed and posted in an easily seen place in the room. Weekly #obs ill be an exciting part of our class dynamics as ell. "veryone ill learn to be responsible and ill contribute an irreplaceable aspect to our classroom environment. "very student is important. ! ill ensure they kno ho important they are as soon as they enter my classroom. 'ohn (e ey said it best hen he said, )"ducation is not preparation for life* "ducation is life itself.+ "ducation is not merely a stage e pass through in our lives. !t is an ongoing, lifelong process. Teachers have many roles in a student,s life. Teachers are often taking on the roles of teacher, parent, counselor, friend, and confidant. ! am fully prepared, and excited, to accept the challenges of hatever role my students need. By providing a loving and interactive educational environment, e are setting the stage for a positive relationship ith learning throughout the students, lives. Another very important part of teaching is maintaining rapport ith the parents. ! encourage parental involvement in every student,s education. -ommunication bet een the parents and teacher ill help ensure the students remain on a progressive track. ! ill encourage phone calls, emails, and meetings. ! ill elcome parent volunteers. By encouraging this constant high level of communication, ! believe ! am setting the stage for student success. Teaching is the most re arding career in existence. There is a sense of importance and fulfillment that comes ith providing learning experiences and helping to shape the minds of tomorro ,s leaders. .ne of the greatest feelings to ever be experienced is to itness the gro th of each student hile they are in your class. %imply kno ing that the student has gro n due to your efforts is beyond explanation. The greatest treasures ! ill ever o n ill not be in the form

of gold or #e els, but ill be the photographs, gifts, notes, and letters from the students ho have crossed through my door.