Part 1: EDUCATIONAL PRINCIPLES AND COMMITMENTS:
What are the broad principles, understandings, and commitments that shape your conception of teaching and that act as the frame on which you will hang your teaching practices?
How do these principles, understandings, and commitments link the promotion of academic excellence for students to the establishment of democratic learning communities in linguistically and culturally diverse settings?
I am a Mexican lady who came to the United States at the age 12. Therefor, my middle school and high school years were very difficult because I was not literate in English. I didn’t have a lot of support from my school and I only had the encouragement of my parents because they wanted to help me with school but they couldn’t because of the language. As a teacher, I will encounter many students that share a similar story, that are facing the same barriers, and that have similar necessities like I did. My goal is to be able to support, understand, encourage, and use a variety of resources to prepare them for college.
When I was in college doing my undergrad studies, I had an amazing biology professor. As she gave her lectures and labs, I noticed her passion and love for science. She cared for her students and she always offered to help. That was the first time that I felt admiration for a professor. It was thanks to her that I decided to pursuit a career in science. She opened a window to curiosity, investigation, and reasoning. A
As a student of education, I have been able to gather many ideas and opinions about practices and ideals I want to implement in my future classroom. My philosophies about education are still being formed and continually change with every class I visit and with every educator I encounter. My ideas, admittedly, come from random experiences and intangible texts, but as I gain more experience in the field through my courses, my philosophies about teaching will become more clearly defined. These few ideas I have now will undoubtedly be added upon as I enter student teaching and my professional career, nevertheless, they are concepts of which I hope to never lose sight.
There is a growing body of research that Hispanic students can achieve, but it will require additional modification and support from the school and community. In the United States, students from linguistically and diverse groups continue to fall behind Caucasian students in academic achievement. The purpose of this paper is to address the educational needs of Hispanic students and provide strategies that will help these students and educators face these challenges. The first strategy is to offer
Furthermore, Vonderlack-Navarro suggest another beneficial way to support English language learners is to involve parents in the students’ education. Because of the language barriers, education levels, and culture, this goal will not be a stress-free assignment; however, once the parents have “buy-in” and trust the school systems, the goal would be accomplished (Stover,
• Explain what your actual or perceived role, responsibilities and boundaries are as a teacher in terms of the teaching/training cycle.
With nearly 30 million immigrants crossing our borders in the last three decades, the United States education system has seen a dramatic increase in the number of English Language Learners (ELLs) entering the classroom (Migration Policy Institute website, n.d.). With this influx of non-native English speakers has come the need to find the best ways possible to meet them where they are academically and teach them accordingly. However, after years of research, education gurus are still divided on how to best meet the needs of ELLs. While there is no clear-cut approach, there are several strategies and programs that schools can implement in order to help immigrant learners and their families be successful in our school system.
An important goal of education is the ability to think for oneself. Many authors talk about education, such as Luis J. Rodriguez in her article “ Slurring Spanish”, Amy Tan’s article “ Mother Tongue”, and Sherman Alexie’s “ The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me” all point out the problems of education. Some obstacles that minority students face in the U.S. come from school, family, and their own cultures. Speaking a different language, having different language experiences, and studying hard to overcome stereotypes are big challenges not only for immigrant students, but also for native students.
Education serves as the greatest gateway to advancement and progress in our society. However, not all students are provided a fair opportunity to reach their full potential. To address this problem, I founded the Herndon STEM and ESOL Academy in 2014 with the hope of meeting the unaddressed needs of unaccompanied young immigrants from the 2014 American immigration crisis to the Washington DC metropolitan area. The program seeks to aid non-English speaking students in their quest to master English and to connect them to resources that can help them transition to life in the U.S. while still celebrating their culture. Our ultimate goal is for students to reach far beyond their original dreams, onto a greater future.
In the Early Childhood and Special Education program at Valdosta State University, students and professors follow a set of principles called the Valdosta State University Dewar College of Education and Human Services Conceptual Principles: Guiding Principles. These principles are supposed to be the foundation for teacher candidates in this program. These dispositions are in place to help instill professional, ethical, and successful beliefs and values into the program’s students. Post-graduation, when looking for jobs, many school districts and potential employers want to know about teacher candidate dispositions to better understand the teacher candidate’s overall potential as an employee. These concepts include skills and mindsets that student
In educational institutions they ignore certain students by being unaware of students’ funds of knowledge and their truth depth of knowledge. (Rios-Aguilar 164) Students have a wide understanding over a range of topics, but schools maintain a deficit perception of culture when it does not adhere to the dominant education system. If we were to bridge funds of knowledge and capital we would have the potential to have a better insight into students’ opportunities and experience in educational institutions. (Rios-Aguilar 163) Wolfram et a. clarifies how essential it is for students to attend a school that acknowledge distinct cultures and backgrounds, “When schools do not systematically accommodate different language varieties, some group of students do less well in the gate-keeping activates that determine program access, placement, and progress (Wolfram et a. 87) Program (such as AVID, honors, etc.) may have an essential role in college acceptance. Schools should allocate their resources and funding towards equipping teachers with imperative skills and knowledge to teach students from all socioeconomic backgrounds. Some of the qualities of a superior teacher are being academically prepared, knowledgeable about the subject they are teaching, and hold an interest in students’ needs. Having a good teacher is essential to a student’s success. (Watanabe
There are many philosophies to consider when preparing to teach. The ones I wish to
As a teacher who is working with English Language Learners, I will be interacting with students from all sorts of backgrounds. In order to support these students as people first and students second, I need to be aware of some of the concerns they might be facing at home. I also want to learn what I can do as a teacher to help students. Jose Antonio Vargas talked about how his principal and superintendent became a part of his support system in his adult life. While it may not be possible to support all of my students for the rest of their lives like Vargas’s example, it is important to build relationships with the
life of a scientist and have since encouraged me to pursue further studies in the science
guide me through student teaching and the early years as a teacher. The core principles of my
When understanding education there are many different ways which the purpose of education may be applied and defined. My personal philosophy of education is, 'educators must nurture/guide students within the academic field, to that the aims, goals and results during this task of educating or being educated are achieved '. This philosophy is used to understand that both teachers and students play an integral role in education. Academic performance, classroom methods/practices and also meeting the requirements of both the senior secondary Australian Curriculum Framework and the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers Framework are examples of these roles. This essay will discuss in detail how my personal philosophy of education, reflects on the role of teachers and learners, the aim of education and the methods and practices used in the classroom. Jean Jacques Rousseau, Paulo Freire, Locke, and Plato/Socrates are the four theorists that shall be used within this essay, to support claims and justify statements regarding this philosophy. John Dewey and A.S Neil are two non-supporting theorists that shall be used in contrast to justify this philosophy.
The student that will be following the course along with me is Chris Illán Gonzalez, he is an eleven-year-old boy that was born is the U.S. but brought to live in Mexico at the age of two. This caused that he couldn't develop English as his first language making room for Spanish to be his mother language. In his family we can get to know his two siblings, Alan and Leslie, they were also born in the U.S. but in difference of Chris they had the opportunity to grasp English as their mother language helping Chris with any obstacles that can present itself.