Running head: PERSPECTIVE #1

Perspective #1: My Beliefs About Teaching

Naomi J. Akkermans
EDFX 203-A
Red Deer College

What makes a quality teacher to me is a combination of various skills and attributes. I

have learned what skills and attributes will help me to be a quality teacher through media such as

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the Freedom Writers and Becoming a Teacher, as well as through my own personal experience.
Some of these attributes and qualities I am able to recognize in myself already. I am a very open
person who is confident speaking in front of large groups, I love children, and have a passion for
learning. Other qualities and attributes I have come to realize I must strive to achieve or learn
from other teachers, include creating effective lesson plans or tests. I need to learn a lot to be the
teacher I want to be but by recognizing the areas I am lacking or sufficient in I am one step
closer to being a quality teacher.
I have learned a lot about what quality teaching is and what kind of teacher I want to be
by watching my favorite movie Freedom Writers. The main teacher, Erin Gruwell, is passionate
about learning and her students. Gruwell is a first year teacher who gets placed to teach a class of
high risk students no one else is willing to teach. This does not discourage Gruwell from working
hard to help these students learn. She genuinely cared about each individual student and pushed
them to succeed. Gruwell gave them responsibility for their own personal learning. For one
particular assignment she made the students pick which grade they thought they deserved. One
student gave himself a failing grade. Gruwell would not accept this or any other mediocre work,
she forced the students to want and strive for more. I am not letting you fail. Even if that means
coming to your house every night until you finish the work. I see who you are. Do you
understand me? I can see you. And you are not failing. (DeVito, Shamberg, Sher, &
LaGravenese, 2007). Each of these students improved, and kept coming back to learn more from
her. Gruwell left a positive impact on each student. Just like Gruwell I want to have a positive
impact on my students and have them know that they can come to me for help outside of
academics. By developing this equal level of respect, trust, and open communication I hope to
create a better learning environment for all.

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Beyond media I learned a tremendous amount of information regarding quality teaching
simply by being a student. I always enjoyed a teacher that I could see was putting in effort and
interest into their students learning, more specifically a teacher that was prompt with marking,
had clear lesson plans laid out for each class, and was willing to answer questions or set up
private meetings for greater learning. Each student learns differently so any teacher who
recognized all learning styles: visual, tactile, and oral, and had learning resources for all earned
my respect. My favorite teacher was always organized for class. She had the class tasks for the
day written on the board at the beginning so all the students were aware of their goals for that
lesson. She never hid or was secretive about due dates they were set and every student was aware
of them. I never want to hide things from my students... I clearly lay out the expectations for
them it is their job to meet them using the resources given. (A. Gringuis, personal
communication, September 29, 2015) This teacher was open to all questions and even when
there was not time in class to answer each question fully she would offer a lunch time session for
students interested to answer the question in greater depth. She was truly a quality teacher and I
have set her model of teaching as my personal goal.
Throughout my education I want to continue to learn and develop my idea of what
makes a quality teacher and more importantly work towards becoming one. My dream is to one
day be seen as a quality teacher and to be to a student what Erin Gruwell was to her students or
my favorite teacher was to me. I want to inspire students and instill in them a passion for
learning and success. As a teacher I will be open, honest, organized, engaging and most
importantly passionate about my students and the material. I will go beyond the expectations and
achieve true success for myself and my students.
Part 2: Statement of Beliefs

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1.
Passion: Every quality teacher needs to be passionate, not simply about teaching,
but passionate about learning themselves, their students, and about education. A teacher can
teach in hundreds of styles but I believe with passion alone they can attract the attention and
respect of their students. Passion can be contagious as when a student feels enthusiasm about
a topic they will be more interested in learning. Passion extends into almost every other
quality of a great teacher.
2.
Love Learning: A teacher must love to learn personally as a career in education
is ever changing and the need to continually learn never ends. Having a passion for learning
in general creates a teacher who is always learning themselves, whether it be expanding their
own knowledge base on a subject to better inform students or learning new ways to teach
effectively.
3.
Engaging: A teacher must be engaging for their students to want to learn. Being
engaging is extremely important as no student is learning anything if they arent paying
attention to the material. Quality teachers have a way of making every student engaged and
willing to learn without the students even being aware. Engaging teachers know to use
various types of resources, technologies, and teaching styles to help each student, that is so
different from the next, learn any idea.
4.
Love Teaching: A teacher must also love teaching to truly earn the title of being a
quality teacher. A teacher that loves their job shows it through their work and energy in the
classroom. These quality teachers recognize and relish the moment when a student goes from
being confused to understanding a concept, and will do all they can to make this moment
happen.
5.

Love Children: Most importantly quality teachers must love children. They are

dedicating their lifes work and hundreds of hours helping children grow, develop, and
expand their knowledge.

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6.
Go Beyond the Expectations: Quality teachers love their students, have a

passion for learning, and love teaching all leading them to having a desire to go above and
beyond the regular call of duty to ensure every student is able to reach their own level of
success. I think this is the main quality that separates quality teachers from mediocre ones,
they want each student to succeed and they will work until it happens. Students respond to
this kind of respect and encouragement and will strive to do better.
7.
Understands Limitations and Abilities of Students: Quality teachers recognize
when they need to step in and help a student or allow a student to take responsibility for their
own learning and success. They recognize that every student is different and has different
needs. Quality teachers work towards meeting these individual needs.
8.
Cooperation: A teacher of quality is able to cooperate with those around them.
This is not an attribute extended only to their students but also coworkers, parents,
administration and other professionals. Creating a well rounded and educated person
involves more than one person and these teachers recognize this.
9.
Learn from Others: They learn from others on how to improve and never stop
striving to do better by their students. They listen to advice from other teachers so they can
be continually improving their teaching abilities. A student may suggest an idea or concept
unheard of before this idea will be listened to from a quality teacher.
10.
Caring, Honest and Optimistic: These three attributes are put together as they
go hand in hand. Beyond anything else a quality teacher has to be caring, honest, and always
optimistic. Some students will take longer to learn concepts and a quality teacher is not
discouraged or frustrated by this. A quality teacher, again, goes beyond the normal classroom
time to help them learn. Every teacher is faced with unsupportive parents and questioning
students at one time or another. This will not discourage a quality teacher they will remain

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optimistic and caring about their students learning. A quality teacher is passionate and
caring.

Teaching a class and being a teacher has a lot of similarities with being the chief of a
tribe. They must lead and teach their tribe about the world around them. The chief will share
their knowledge freely. A chief can not hold his people's hands through their journey of life but
only give them the skills they need to succeed. He watches over them and protects them
allowing them to learn on their own. At times when they need him he is present to help them

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until the tribesmen are self- sufficient. He cares about each and every member of his tribe. He
helps solve disputes amongst the tribesmen and teaches them how to work together and better
communicate. The chief teaches his tribesmen how to respect one another and members of other
tribes as he too must communicate and work with other chiefs. The chief must make important
decisions but allows his tribesmen to have a say. At times decisions have to be quick but this
does not faze him. He listens always, no problem is too little or big for him. He is always trying
to improve his abilities for the betterment of the tribe. The chief cares about his people and is
there to share his knowledge and lead them to their own future.

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References

DeVito, D. Shamberg, M. Sher, S.(Producers), & LaGravenese, M. (Director). (2007). Freedom

Writers [Motion Picture]. United States of America: Paramount Pictures

Parkay, F. W., & Parkay, F. W. (2012). Becoming a teacher. Toronto: Pearson Allyn & Bacon.

Freedom Writers Script - Dialogue Transcript. Retrieved October 1, 2015, from

http://www.script-o-rama.com/movie_scripts/f/freedom-writers-script-transcript.html

Overview of learning styles. Retrieved October 1, 2015, from http://www.learning-stylesonline.com/overview/

What is Your Teaching Style? Retrieved October 1, 2015, from

http://biz.colostate.edu/mti/tips/pages/whatisyourteachingstyle.aspx

Cowboy Coloring | Free | Coloring For Kids | Westerns | America Coloring Pages.
Retrieved October 1, 2015, from http://www.yescoloring.com/cowboy-coloring.html