Emma Deki

SA- Classroom Environment

My name is Emma Deki. I am currently a high school English teacher at San Tan Charter

School. I have been teaching at this school for under a year. There are currently around 300 at

the 7th-12th grade campus. Here at San Tan Charter School, we run our classrooms on Love and

Logic. This theme we have throughout our school has helped teachers and staff gain the respect

of students. Rarely do we call security on a student or send them to the principle. We want

students to feel respected and responsible for their actions. If a student in my classroom begins to

act out, they know they are expected to go to the calm down zone. This is a corner of my

classroom with pillows and a rug where they can relax and regain their control. Students respect

this and will sometimes place themselves there. The students at the school are also aware of our

concept of Love and Logic and we have a poster in the classrooms with the main points of what

that looks like in the classroom.

As an educator, I have many ideas as to how I want to teach as well as desires for my

classroom. In my opinion, to be an inspirational teacher, you must have such said ideas and

desires to be successful in your goals. Being an educator is not a matter of simply just teaching

your students the content; it is about creating an environment of kindness and encouragement,

and I plan on living out my goals in my teaching. Making learning fun is a huge part of this. I

know that many of the students in my classroom do not like English and will have learning

barriers up. In order for me to break these barriers, I must show my students that English can be

fun, enjoyable, and can be related to their personal lives. I also think it is extremely important for

my students to know I am also a human being. That I understand them and support them in
everything. More importantly not just as a student in my classroom but for who they are

personally. I also make it clear to my students that I am there for them whenever they need me. I

never want my students to just view me as their English teacher, I want them to view me as a

mentor and someone that helps them get through the craziness of life. Because I never just teach

my students English, I teach them life skills and how to be strong individuals.

Student engagement is crucial to learning in a classroom. If a student is not engaged, they

are not learning. My favorite way to keep students engaged is to allow them to be creative and

utilize their own personal interests. Not all of my students are the same, in fact they are all very

different! I am constantly having them discuss in groups and having them utilize personal

experiences to help them better grasp a topic. My second favorite way to keep students engaged

is by being fun and relatable. I have always believed that teachers should always be themselves. I

am very fun and goofy and I always let my personality shine through. Students will respect you

more when you are just yourself because they will feel comfortable and know that I am human

just like them.

Technology has become a very important tool for learning. My students utilize laptops in

the classroom for practice tests, as well as some assignments on websites like No Red Ink. I

know my students access technology every day when they are not at school, so keeping it

consistent and allowing them to utilize it in class always helps them understand concepts.