Educational Belief Statements:
The role of teachers is to learn alongside their students and to exemplify the ideals to which they challenge their students to reach. As teachers, we should feel personally challenged by the expectations that we set forth for students. We ask them to take risks by trying new things that may lie outside their comfort zones. We too must take risks in our teaching and to be comfortable not being the experts. The world is changing and advancing ever so rapidly. We must willing to learn from our students and be open-minded as to how students demonstrate their understanding, even if it is with a technology that we have not mastered. We need to foster a positive community of acceptance and tolerance, so both teacher and student have the space to take risks, succeed, fail, and openly reflect on learning.
The most meaningful learning occurs when members of a community are given the opportunity to collaborate and learn from one another. The buzz from a successful collaborative project is indescribable. Teachers, as members of an international learning community, have the responsibility to seek out opportunities for collaboration with other professionals. Collaboration doesn’t just happen; it takes time, energy, effort, and creativity. We should model establishing and utilizing our personal learning networks within our school community and beyond, so students can see us in action. We need to provide students with both the opportunities and tools to ensure they can be effective collaborators and sharers of information and ideas.
School communities operate at the optimum level when both teachers and students make it a priority to be balanced in their daily lives. For both teachers and students, being part of a thriving school community is a highly intense job. With that intensity, comes the necessity to pursue passions and develop interests outside the classroom. Students need the opportunity to explore, play, and dare outside the classroom. Sometimes, they might need a bit of guidance in figuring out what just they are good out and how they can capitalize on those strengths. We never know when a positive encouragement or suggestion might help lead students to an “Aha” moment as they discover a passion, talent, or strength that previously lay dormant.
The role of teachers is to learn alongside their students and to exemplify the ideals to which they challenge their students to reach. As teachers, we should feel personally challenged by the expectations that we set forth for students. We ask them to take risks by trying new things that may lie outside their comfort zones. We too must take risks in our teaching and to be comfortable not being the experts. The world is changing and advancing ever so rapidly. We must willing to learn from our students and be open-minded as to how students demonstrate their understanding, even if it is with a technology that we have not mastered. We need to foster a positive community of acceptance and tolerance, so both teacher and student have the space to take risks, succeed, fail, and openly reflect on learning.
The most meaningful learning occurs when members of a community are given the opportunity to collaborate and learn from one another. The buzz from a successful collaborative project is indescribable. Teachers, as members of an international learning community, have the responsibility to seek out opportunities for collaboration with other professionals. Collaboration doesn’t just happen; it takes time, energy, effort, and creativity. We should model establishing and utilizing our personal learning networks within our school community and beyond, so students can see us in action. We need to provide students with both the opportunities and tools to ensure they can be effective collaborators and sharers of information and ideas.
School communities operate at the optimum level when both teachers and students make it a priority to be balanced in their daily lives. For both teachers and students, being part of a thriving school community is a highly intense job. With that intensity, comes the necessity to pursue passions and develop interests outside the classroom. Students need the opportunity to explore, play, and dare outside the classroom. Sometimes, they might need a bit of guidance in figuring out what just they are good out and how they can capitalize on those strengths. We never know when a positive encouragement or suggestion might help lead students to an “Aha” moment as they discover a passion, talent, or strength that previously lay dormant.