Classroom Environment Philosophy

Name: Mary Long

Introduction
When I am teacher, I plan on teaching Secondary English Language Arts. My future classroom
will be a safe environment for students of all genders and races. I relish the idea of using cultural
differences as learning vehicles to expand collective consciousness and improve academic
success in my future students (Ladson-Billings, 1995). This concept diversity has had great
influence on my pedagogical philosophy, as it will be a key focus in my literary study with
students. I want to draw parallels between modern pop culture and literature or use different
genres of reading in order to make learning more meaningful. Whatever level students begin on,
I would like to help boost them to a higher standard through the constant encouragement, as well
as the study of complex text, literary theory, textual analysis, and academic writing. Much of my
philosophical inspiration comes from the types of classrooms I experienced throughout my
secondary and postsecondary academic career. I hope to incorporate many Progressivist qualities
in my lesson plan design, focusing on student experience, interest, and capabilities. I would
maintain some entities of Essentialism for the sake of organization, like seating arrangements
and certain types of testing. I want to utilize both formative and summative assessment in order
to understand what my students do know, instead of focusing solely on what they do not. One
very influential reading from this semester said that success is going to look different in every
student (Ayers, 2010).

Five belief statements.

1) I believe the classroom can be a students favorite place to be.

In the past, the classes that I enjoyed were some of my favorite environments. They were
fun and enjoyable; I learned and retained the most in those classes. Before I started my teacher
education program, I did not believe that I could change things outside of my classroom, but I
have come to the conclusion now that such a statement is false. By making students comfortable
and teaching important critical thinking skills, cultural diversity, acceptance, sociopolitical
consciousness, and many more aspects of maturity, I believe those tools will be carried outside
the four walls of my classroom for use in the everyday lives of my students.

2) I believe I can be a positive role model to my students.

It is important that we all have support in our lives. I care enough for my future students to help
them in any way I possibly can to make a difference. When students arent at home, most of their
time is spent in a school classroom. It is absolutely vital that I demonstrate charisma, leadership,
and passion, both inside and outside of my four walls. I believe I can become someone my
students would admire and strive to be in the future. I want to represent one of the first
professional standards for teachers in North Carolina: demonstrate leadership and create a safe,
orderly environment within the school. I will do this by coaching athletic teams, becoming a
mentor, being present at school functions, and volunteering for academic organizations. If
students see me getting involved, I can hopefully inspire them to do the same.

3) I believe there needs to be more focus on the individual student.

I see the value in standardized tests and group work, but sometimes it can make the student feel
like a faceless robot that offers no other contribution to the educational system, other than an
SAT score or a slightly-ignored comment in a paideia. It is important that we make sure every
student knows that he or she has power and purpose, both inside and outside the classroom. All
of their ideas, strengths, and weaknesses should be taken into account. By recognizing the
individual's worth, we simultaneously highlight the importance of where they come from, what
they have, and what they are going to have. If we focus more on the individual, there wont be
gaps between white students and other minority students - everyone will be getting the help and
support required by their own personal needs. Not only will I focus on cultural differences, but
learning differences as well. Differentiation is going to be my best friend in the classroom.
Whether I have struggling readers or high-level scholars, I want to ensure that quality learning is
taking place. I will do this by utilizing all levels of Blooms taxonomy, instead of focusing
merely on one aspect. From the steps of Remember, all the way to Create, each one can help
contribute to the individual understanding of each of my students (Anderson, Krathwohl, &
Bloom, (2001). I will also strive to make any necessary accommodations or modifications to that
curriculum to ensure I am meeting the needs of my struggling learners. I do not want to simply
give out worksheets and vocabulary to my English Language Learners, ADHD, and IEP/504
students. Equal, meaningful learning opportunities will be just one of many goals.

4) I believe I can make the world of literature relative to all of my students.

I understand that I am going to be teaching a very unpopular subject. Students dont enjoy
reading and struggle with the boredom of lengthy analysis and writing tasks. I have had teachers
make incredibly boring, complex subjects both exciting and fun. I want to do the same for my

students. Even if they struggle with or do not enjoy course assignments, I want them to gain a
new appreciation for the piece of study, as well as their own personal efforts. I would make
literature relevant to all of my students by using different thematic novels, breakout sessions,
writing workshops, guest speakers, and creative projects. By scaffolding critical thinking with
these activities, it would help them understand the purpose of literature and its importance. I
would be helping my students become successful through my variation of with direct instruction,
cooperative learning, and discovery learning (Guillaume, 2015). With a balance of all three styles
of teaching in my classroom, relevant learning will be possible.

5) I believe the teacher predicts the student.

I once thought I was terrible at science. Even my mother (who homeschooled me) told me that I
was not very good at it. Years later, I had a biology teacher who believed in me - and I
succeeded. Teacher input has a very powerful impact on students lives. Positive or negative,
those interactions stay with us for life. I want to make sure that I encourage students to be high
achievers, while simultaneously helping to crush the nagging fears of self-doubt in their minds. I
dont want to be the reason behind increasing statistics of low-achieving minority students. If I
consistently believe in every single student that comes into my classroom to learn, I can help
improve academic and social self-esteem of previously unconfident individuals.

Parent Letter
Dear Parents and/or Guardians,
My name is Ms. Long and I am so very excited to start the school year with this fantastic group
of students! I want to involve you all as much as possible, so I want to tell you a little bit about
some of the things we are going to be doing in our classroom this school year. I have several
goals for my students and I to accomplish together. First of all, I want to establish and nurture a
sense of critical consciousness. By making our environment open and welcoming to all ideas,
cultures, and philosophies, I believe that we can mature into more respectful, open-minded
adults. This setting will help our round table literature discussions flourish.As we establish this
cultural awareness, I also want your students to be academically successful. I plan on varying my
methods of instruction frequently to meet the needs of every student. We will be having writing
workshops, guest speakers, and different projects throughout the semester. Since I will be doing
my very best to accommodate those individual learning needs, my expectation is that students
give me their very best work as well. Some of the writings and readings we do, both in and out of
class, are going to complex. Do not let that deter your student; stand beside me and encourage
them with support. Some of the books we read are going to be outside comfort zones, and may
push racial or social boundaries; my goal is to use these texts to heighten the sense of social
awareness and critical thinking in our students. If there are expectations or assignments that are
ever unclear for any reason, please come to me and we will devise a solution together to create a
successful outcome for you and your student. As much as I am looking forward to teaching this
group of students, I am looking forward to learning from them even more. This is going to be a
fantastic year and I cannot wait to see how each students grows and develops. Feel free to

contact me using the attached information at any time to set up an email conference or an inperson chat. I look forward to this year with you and our students.
Sincerely,
Ms. Long

Conclusion
My overall classroom philosophy is to have an open environment. I believe with an open
environment, I can make many things possible at one time. Cultural diversity, critical thinking,
and academic success are my biggest goals. Through my differentiated instruction and focus on
individual learning needs, my classroom is going to be one that makes all students excited to
read, write, and learn. By embodying these philosophies, not only do I represent myself, but also
the state of North Carolina. The North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards states that
teachers make the content they teach engaging, relevant, and meaningful to students lives
(North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards Commission, 2011). My classroom
environment philosophy will serve as an indication of meeting that standard. This plan benefits
me as a professional because it outlines a clear course of action. I have highlighted what I value
inside the classroom and what I think students will value. By defining what I think a good
teacher is, this philosophy has given me a goal to work towards in my future career. Over the
course of the semester, I have seen a change in the passion behind my classroom environment
philosophy. The more I read and learned about teaching, the more I wanted to know. My ideas
and values never changed, they only grew stronger. In comparing my first draft of this paper to
the final, I have come to the conclusion that my beliefs have remained consistent, but now they
are more structured, concrete, and supported. It has shown me that I am growing into my field as
a professional and expanding my knowledge about so many things inside the classroom. If I have
grown this much in a semester, I cannot wait to see how much I grow over the next 4-5 years as a
brand new teacher.

References

Anderson, L. W., Krathwohl, D. R., & Bloom, B. S. (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching,
and assessing: A revision of Bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives. Allyn & Bacon.
Ayers, W. (2010). To teach: The journey of a teacher. Teachers College Press.
Guillaume, A. M. (2015). K-12 classroom teaching: A primer for new professionals. Pearson.
LadsonBillings, G. (1995). But that's just good teaching! The case for culturally relevant
pedagogy. Theory into practice, 34(3), 159-165.
North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards Commission. (2011). North Carolina
professional teaching standards.