Elizabeth A. Hecht Educational Philosophy 6/12/2013 Keep Trying. I almost feel that those t o o!ds a!

e enou"h to e#plain my education philosophy. It is the "oal I ha$e fo! myself. It is hat I as% of my students. It is hat my co& o!%e!s and I t!y to "et bac% to hen the tal% at lunch has "otten a little too "!umpy. I lo$e the o!ds '%eep t!yin"( because hile they don't !e)ui!e anyone to be pe!fect* they don't let anyone* e$en the most accomplished indi$idual* off the hoo%. It is all about effo!t+ ,e all ha$e to continuously put effo!t into hat e do. I ha$e !elea!ned the impo!tance of this ith one $e!y ithd!a n E-. student* /athan. He and I ha$e st!u""led all yea!* and e ha$e had a yea! lon" con$e!sation about t!yin". /o matte! hat* I ha$e to t!y to teach and he has to t!y to lea!n. He has to t!y to e#plain his thin%in" and I ha$e to t!y to unde!stand. ,hen faced ith a comple# math p!oblem* e$e!yone has to t!y somethin"+ 0ometimes the only b!i"ht spot I could find as (At least e a!e both still t!yin".( 1ecently /athan told me about a cousin ho had a ne"ati$e e#pe!ience at anothe! school. /athan said (I told my cousin he should come he!e2 at least he!e the teache!s ould try." I felt I had on the lotte!y that day* because in spite of daily f!iction had faith in us* he unde!stood that e e!e committed and ould not "i$e up on him.

Be There. As a special education teache! 3o! any teache!4 the!e ill be students in you! school ci!cle ho ha$e $e!y painful e#pe!iences. I ha$e had students ho ha$e been hospitalized fo! mental illness* become p!e"nant by se#ual assault* o! become homeless. I

%no a teache! cannot sol$e these p!oblems* but I belie$e e cannot 5ust hold ou!sel$es apa!t and mechanically pu!sue an academic a"enda* eithe!. ,e ha$e to be the!e fo! ou! student as they ha$e these e#pe!iences. It can be temptin" to 5ust ca!!y on* because (bein" the!e( can be a % a!d and painful. 6nce e ac%no led"e the p!oblem e may also feel p!essu!e to do somethin" about it. 0ometimes e can and e should do somethin". 7sually* thou"h* I thin% bein" the!e is simila! to sittin" ith a f!iend th!ou"h a fune!al. 8ou a!e 5ust the!e* you! p!esence does nothin" to chan"e hat has happened* but it communicates compassion. -ein" the!e fo! students is sittin" on the floo! in the "i!ls bath!oom and lettin" someone c!y. It's lettin" the %id you ha$e one&on&one fo! a test finally tell you about that thin" that happened a lon" time a"o. It's admi!in" thei! babies* tattoos* and pictu!es of ca!s they ish they had. -ein" the!e says you ha$e time fo! them. It says that they ha$e o!th.

Let Go. 9ettin" "o is the balance to bein" the!e. :no in" hen to let "o is the thin" that %eeps you sane and able to continue to teach and (be the!e( o$e! many yea!s. ;he !i"ht time to ta%e a step bac% is diffe!ent in e$e!y situation* and as a teache! my sense of hen to (let "o( has e$ol$ed. Ea!ly in my ca!ee! I had a student ho as in dan"e! of not "!aduatin" because of e#cessi$e absences. I ould "et someone to co$e! my math class* d!i$e to his house and t!y to "et him to "o bac% to school ith me. He ne$e! came. E$entually* I had to let it "o. ,e still too% the no!mal steps fo! ch!onic absence* but I had to %eep my commitment to teach math. /o * I p!efe! to let "o soone! hen the!e isn't as fa! to fall. <o! e#ample* the student I desc!ibed abo$e had attendance p!oblems all th!ou"h hi"h

school but the special education staff o!%ed !eally ha!d help him pass. /o I ill (let( a student li%e that e#pe!ience some failu!e* li%e an incomplete* as a sophomo!e o! 5unio!. 0tudents dese!$e a chance to lea!n hen the sta%es a!e lo * such as failin" one class !athe! than !is%in" you! hi"h school diploma* and sometimes lettin" "o is %ey to that.

I am the only one I can hold accountable. As a teache!* the!e a!e al ays pa!ents* students* boa!d membe!s* and e$en 3"asp+4 othe! teache!s ho may not do hat I thin% they should. It is easy to c!iticize and demand that othe! people be accountable fo! thei! actions* but I belie$e this leads to bitte!ness and !esentment. I thin% it is bette! to decide ho I ant to be as p!ofessional* hat %ind of school I ant to o!% in* and then hold myself accountable fo! pu!suin" these ideals. I do "et "!umpy* complain* and feel so!!y fo! myself. ;hen I "et it to"ethe! and !ecommit to ma%in" a positi$e chan"e. I loo% at my o n sho!tcomin"s and !e$ise my beha$io!. I !eflect on thin"s that ent ell so I identify and inc!ease effecti$e st!ate"ies. =y "oal is to al ays "!o as a teache! and a pe!son.