My Teaching Philosophy
In order to understand my personal views and my perspective on being an educator, you must first understand my vision. It has three parts:
Classroom Mindset
Nothing will stop my students from academic excellence. My purpose for teaching is to instill a deep sense of African history and culture in my students so they can understand, embrace and control their own communities using the principles of mathematics, language arts, science and social studies.
Knowledge of Self
African American children continue to be subjected to curricula that is culturally irrelevant which consequently prevents them from instruction and instructional practices that enable them to see themselves at the center of what they are learning. African American children continue to play on a playing field that is not level. I intentionally instill a strong identity and sense of being in my students.
Master Teaching
As the classroom teacher, I am the number one determinant relative to their success or failure. My students cannot wait for me to develop over time. They require me to enter as a master teacher from the outset.
I seek to do a great deal of good, and to never stop learning…
As my residency year comes to a close, I have recognized how important it is to plan, to read, to reflect, and to focus. I strive to have all students performing at their absolute best 100% of the time. While that is an ideal situation, it is not entirely unrealistic. I have spent the majority of my life working diligently for causes that I believe in: education, arts, healthcare, urban development and conservation. Success for all students begins with a teacher that believes in them, honors their heritage, desires the best outcome for them, and is committed to finding a way to help them actualize that outcome.
This past year has reminded me that it is not easy, but very rewarding. I am here to help teach and inspire the next generation of leaders and global citizens.
Baltimore City schools are presented with a great deal of social and economic dilemmas, but no school district is perfect. As an educator in an urban setting with students who require differentiated instruction, I know how important it is that my students deeply understand their obligation to continue the historic struggle as they pave the way for those coming behind them. Their first fight is in the classroom. They must understand that as they are striving for academic excellence, they are in turn moving themselves and their people forward. I believe in teaching young people how the world works, and how education can be used as a key to freedom.
I make it my responsibility to have a vision for where I see my students at the end of each quarter and the end of the school year. To reach this vision, we must set goals, develop a plan of action and adhere to that plan.
Real world problems
Across subjects, students are reminded of how they can apply the day’s objective to their personal lives.
In order to better understand how I can support my students and develop them as emerging learners, they have to trust me and feel comfortable being themselves - free of judgement. In our class, we discuss our lives beyond the walls of the school building, and lean on one another to navigate the human experiences of fear, shame, independence, and friendship among others.
Culturally Relevant Teachnig
I make sure that students see their home culture reflected when they are learning. This photograph was used to help students recall the presence of patterns in our daily lives, and how those repeating patterns have deep historical roots. Patterns are also used as a mathematical concept.
Lessons are designed to support all learners. Some students may require more attention in small group settings, or they may require visual aids, like the anchor chart above. In the virtual setting, a table is included on students’ screen to reference during independent/group work.
This is a snap shot of a sample lesson plan crafted by me and a group of graduate students teaching in schools across the city. We used this assignment to better understand the specific needs of a student, and craft a plan that would set forth goals for the student, as well as objectives that would assist in obtaining those goals. We believe that all students can learn, and that instruction should be driven by student data.
Small group gains
This year, I had the opportunity to sharpen the reading skills of a small group of students in Grade 2. In general, these students were reading well below grade level. In order to determine their specific needs, a co-teacher and I analyzed their benchmark assessment (these are taken at the start and end of the school year to capture learning data).
Next, I used leveled literacy intervention (LLI) with the group of students over the course of several weeks. We met for roughly 30 minutes 5 days per week.
This intervention strategy is brief, targeted and goal oriented. Student progress is frequently monitored to inform any necessary changes or alterations in the delivery of the lesson.
full report here.
