My Teaching Philosophy

As an English teacher, my top priority is to develop my students' interest and skill in reading and writing.  Literacy, I believe is the single most important skill necessary in our culture.  My love of reading is probably the most important reason I have been so successful academically from a young age.  I want to ensure that all students have the opportunity to read books that are significant and meaningful to them, both by assessing what appeals to them individually and by drawing parallels from their in-class reading to their own experiences.  My understanding of research-based strategies to help non-readers and students with disabilities increase their reading ability will aid me in expanding students' enjoyment of reading.

My gifts as an expository writer allow me to provide high-level training in writing essays and research papers.  However, I also want to give students many opportunities to write creatively, and include writing exercises and workshops throughout my time here.  I recently wrote my Master's Capstone, "Lessons from Writers:  A Reflection of Books Teachers can Use to Guide Young Creative Writers," so that I can confidently guide student writers in creating their own works of poetry and prose. 

            I am dedicated to providing all students with individualized attention, helping them to shape their education toward fulfilling their career goals.  Nothing gives me more satisfaction than watching students develop and succeed in accomplishing their objectives, and I am committed to giving them careful advisement.  Whether students are preparing to attend college or not, I believe that they should have been exposed to a wide range of activities.  As an English teacher, I want my students to read, write, listen, and speak across genres and topics to help them not only expand their capabilities in English Language Arts, but also to make personal discoveries, and to realize the connection between all school subjects.

In-class discussions, projects, and writing assignments which give  all students the opportunity to envelop themselves in particular subjects and to explore and communicate their own ideas is a crucial component to my classes.  Partly because of my theatre background, I have a large cache of activities to access students' multiple intelligences.  My students can expect to do role playing, readers' theatre, dramatic writing, script analysis, art/design projects, improvisation, along with other types of activities as part of my classes.  My use of multimedia and live performances also form part of class experience.

In my classes, students will know what the expectations are for each day's lesson and will know that I expect them not just to follow directions and passively let me "teach" them, but to develop their critical thinking skills so that they can teach themselves, each other, and me.  If they are successful in this, they are well on their way to becoming successful in life.