SNAPSHOT:
- “You may only remember your student for a year, but they will remember you for a lifetime (Reggie Washington, Project Aware).”
- It is my core belief, that the best way to support students is to begin by showing them that you CARE
- In order for optimal student learning to transpire, the classroom environment must be a safe and nurturing place
- One of the first ways to show caring is to help students with their assignments
- Caring can also be established by valuing students as individuals
- Teachers can demonstrate caring by providing students with encouragement and support
- The value of encouragement, both verbal and other, is unequivocal and immeasurable
- “Every child deserves a champion (Reggie Washington).”
- I believe in setting high standards for my students, which need to be supported by an effective infrastructure for learning and include content based on differentiation
- Students must know that it is okay to take risks, and it is okay to make mistakes
- I believe in the use of equity pedagogy, which involves teaching strategies and classroom environments that help students from diverse racial, ethnic, and cultural groups attain the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to function effectively within, and help create and perpetuate, a just, humane, and democratic society (The Caring Classroom, 2009)
- I believe that an effective teacher can create a classroom that promotes learning in the psychomotor, fitness, affective, and cognitive domains
- Reflective teaching requires flexibility, innovation, and intuition
- Teachers need to maintain healthy relationships with their peers, students, staff, and administration in order to support the school and district’s reputation.
It is my core belief, that the best way to support students is to begin by showing them that you care – everything else can be worked out from there. In order for optimal student learning to transpire, the classroom environment must be a safe and nurturing place where biases are left at the door, and every student is treated respectfully by their educator and peers. Students cannot perform optimally in an environment where they do not feel safe and accepted. The same can be said of an environment in which they do not feel valued, respected and supported. Adolescence, the age from 11 – 21, includes a lot of social and emotional change. Students in this age range have a strong desire to “fit in” and belong. The teacher must forge a learning community where students value one another, respect diversity, and maintain a caring classroom community.
Caring can be established in PE programs in several ways. One of the first ways to show caring is to help students with their assignments. In a physical education class this means delivering concise information, demonstrations, and positive-specific feedback that allows students to correctly perform the task at hand. For example, when I was taught soccer in my PE class as a child, the teacher told me to practice kicking the ball. However, she did not instruct me on how to do it, or explain the critical elements that were involved. She simply told me to do it, and walked away. This did not make me feel valued, nor did it convey that my learning was of much importance to her.
Caring can also be established by valuing students as individuals. In the example I just gave above, I did not feel valued as an individual. The teacher did not do anything to show me that I was valued, or that she valued my learning. If she would have shown me the critical elements, questioned me to check for understanding, and then provided positive-specific feedback that enabled me to improve I would have felt important. I would have felt that my learning was important, and that my teacher truly cared about my learning, my performance/success, and me.
Teachers can also demonstrate caring by providing students with encouragement and support. This is my favorite part of teaching! I love giving my students positive, verbal praise for the things they do well or improve upon. This type of support elevates their self-efficacy and motivation for learning. I am of the opinion that the value of encouragement, both verbal and other, is unequivocal and immeasurable. It is a tool that all teachers should use, and all children should receive. “Every child deserves a champion (Reggie Washington).” When I am teaching my classes, I measure a student’s success based on their own personal best. I do not compare the skills of individual students against one another, because all students have different attributes and begin at different levels. When a student improves upon his or her personal best, I believe they have succeeded and should be praised for this. This shows support on the part of the teacher toward the student, which in turn shows the student that you care about them, their learning, and their success.
I believe in setting high standards for my students. The high standards need to be supported by an effective infrastructure for learning and include content based on differentiation. An effective and nurturing learning environment allows students to set goals, and strive to meet those goals with the help of their teacher and peers. Risk is an integral part of any learning environment. In order to progress above and beyond current academic levels, students must do things they have not previously done. This is where the risk lies – stepping out of one’s comfort zone in order to attempt new things (and sometimes, in new ways). Students must know that it is okay to take these risks, and it is okay to make mistakes. They must know that their teacher and peers support them. It should be made clear on the first day of class that making mistakes is okay, and even necessary, in the learning process. This is how we learn, and if you don’t succeed at first – try again! This is more likely to occur in an environment where students support each other’s goals and aspirations. High standards pertain to student academic achievement as well as the teacher’s pedagogical approach to creating a caring and nurturing environment where students thrive.
I believe in the use of equity pedagogy. Equity pedagogy involves teaching strategies and classroom environments that help students from diverse racial, ethnic, and cultural groups attain the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to function effectively within, and help create and perpetuate, a just, humane, and democratic society (The Caring Classroom, 2009). As such, it is important to focus on changing instances of institutional equity in the classroom. To do this, it is important that I begin by interacting with all my students on an equal basis regarding race, gender, socioeconomic status, and motor skillfulness. I have definitely been involved in PE classes in high school where the teacher treated me better than some individuals because I was highly skilled in the motor realm. I also played sports for the school, and the teacher supported me more than others because of this. It was unfair, and it did not benefit the students and class as a whole. All students are capable of achieving, which has nothing to do with their genetics or their parent’s socioeconomic level, and has everything to do with the fact that all humans are intelligent and able to acquire knowledge and skill sets. An important component of communicating expectations to students is making sure that the expectations are realistic and measurable. In this manner students can achieve them, and be praised on an individual basis based on success regarding their own personal best. I will implement activities and strategies that allow equitable participation by all students. In this manner, students with higher skill levels will not be able to dominate the activities. I will maintain a safe, warm, and nurturing classroom by addressing issues of bias among my students. This is natural for me, as I am an advocate of the underdog. No student will be subjected to derogatory language while in my class – I couldn’t ignore that kind of behavior if I wanted to! This also extends to harassment and intimidation. Students cannot feel safe to learn and take risks in their learning if the classroom environment is open to such attacks. On the first day of class, I will discuss these offenses and invite the students to join me in deciding on different consequences for these actions. This is an integral part of my classroom management approach, and it allows me to maintain a learning community with common goals and guidelines. As a community, my students will be taught to respect and care for one another, regardless of race, gender, socioeconomic status, and the like.
I believe that an effective teacher can create a classroom that promotes learning in the psychomotor, fitness, affective, and cognitive domains. Part of being able to do this, is actively practicing reflective teaching. Reflective teachers are those that are actively engaged with their students, and in the learning process. Reflective teachers gauge student progress and engagement, and assess whether or not the classroom/curricular format is working for the students. If it is, then the teacher will maintain the system that is in place. If it is not, then the teacher will restructure the activities to better suit the needs of the students. As such, reflective teaching requires flexibility, innovation, and intuition. I say “intuition” because teachers need to be able to monitor and feel the ebb and flow of the day’s events. The course elements should flow nicely so that the students are never bored, inactive, or wondering what they should be doing. Knowing your children is like having a “flashlight in the dark” regarding what to teach next, and how to teach it (The Caring Classroom, 2009).
I believe that the best teachers are also consummate professionals in their field. To me this equates to knowing school, district and national policies as they relate to both student and teacher conduct & safety. Today’s educators need to know about public trust, and be able to maintain that trust by practicing accountability regarding student privacy and confidentiality. Moreover, teachers need to maintain healthy relationships with their peers, students, staff, and administration in order to support the school and district’s reputation. This can include maintaining constant documentation for the purposes of posterity and to the end of avoiding conflict. Communities that are able to avoid conflict and maintain clear communication thrive! All teachers need to do their part to achieve this for the benefit of the school, themselves, and the students!