Running head: STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS 1

Statement of Informed Beliefs Essay

Tania Agurto

Doug Rapley

EDUC 220

Fall 2017
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Statement of Informed Beliefs Essay

Education, is a single word and nevertheless it covers so much. Each child is a world,

ways of thinking and learning that are different and converge in a classroom. Different realities

and challenges. What great responsibility as future teachers we have to teach each one of them

giving the best of us, our best effort.

In the following paragraphs I will make my dreams known, my thoughts regarding the

expectations I have about Education. The essay will be divided into five sections that are: All

Students Can Learn, Teacher’s Expectations, Students’ Social Ecology Theory, Cultural Diversity

Instruction and Curriculum for all Learners

All Students Can Learn

When I was studying at university, I had a teacher, Professor Ortiz, who always said "a

good student learns despite the teacher". His phrase discouraged me every time I listened to it,

because I felt that I had full responsibility for my learning process, even when I did not know

anything.

Over time I have learned that each person has a potential to develop. Sometimes it is in

sight and sometimes not, sometimes even unknown by the person who owns it. I firmly believe

that one of the teacher’s duties is to help to discover, develop and also enhance it. Nevertheless,

how can we reach each of our students if each person is a different world? It’s a very difficult

and demanding task. I think that observation must be an ability to develop, as well as empathy.

As we take time to meet our students then our task of seeing their potential and helping to

develop it will be much simpler. If we observe with sufficient detail, then we will find the best

teaching methodologies that will help our children.

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Regarding to leadership I received a teaching that I consider powerful and therefore I

treasure as something that would help me all my life. Someone told me that a good leader knows

how to delegate tasks and then verify them. That’s what I think a good teacher should do. Allow

their students to be an active part of their learning, delegating tasks to them and verifying that

they can fulfill them, as well as recognizing the work and effort they put in their assignment.

When I think of my future students, I try to remember what I would have liked to receive myself

as a student, I believe that this is a good exercise in getting closer to them and attaining the

expected learning.

Teacher’s Expectations

I have always thought that a good teacher can change the life of a child. Many times, the

work of the teacher is not valued, it is not given the importance it has. However, the good

influence of a teacher can install valuable ideas in student minds, therefore it is pretty important

the teacher's expectations about what his/her students can achieve and what the teacher can do in

order to support the students to reach their potential.

What do we mean by the teacher's expectations? Reflecting on that I think what should a

teacher expect from a student? Many of the teachers I have met expect them to behave in the

classroom, to participate in classes and learn. I think those are good things to expect, but I ask

myself again, is that enough? I think that expecting only that from the students is not to value

them sufficient. From my personal point of view, I think that expecting them to develop critical

thinking is very satisfying, because it is one of the most useful tools that students could cultivate

as a learning for life.

I intimately believe that what one expects has a direct relationship with vocation. When

we study what we are really passionate about, we think of giving our best in order to perform in
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the best possible way, because we are enjoying what we do, because that fills our life. That is the

key of everything. Being a teacher is more than just deliver content, it is more than assessment

it is more than reaching certain standards. A teacher needs to go beyond to do his/her work well,

he/she needs to know the background of each student, to know about his/her microsystem to see

what their interests are, to realize what is the best way to teach each one. Besides it is the other

part of being a teacher, which has nothing to do with knowledge but with the heart. The teacher

should be able to have his/her students trust, to see him/her as someone to trust any problem and

in this way the teacher can install in the mind and in the heart of the student the idea that he or

she can achieve his/her best version, no matter their circumstances, their country or their

ethnicity because we all have a potential to develop…. It is not easy to be a teacher, but it fills

the soul.

When we talk about what a teacher expects from students, I relate it immediately to the goals that

the teacher has set out to help students to cope with expectations. I wonder, is the planning

important? Are the objectives important? of course yes! Long time ago I learned that we must set

goals to achieve objectives, and that those goals must be written and must have date to verify

progress. Not long ago I learned that the goals that we draw must be intelligent and achievable,

one step at a time. That is the way to work, plan smart. Without proper planning for each class it

is impossible to achieve goals for our children to progress. Planning is one of the foundations of

work as a teacher. Planning and organization are fundamental to be a good teacher.

Students’ Social Ecology Theory

On repeated occasions I have asked myself what should be done to motivate a child to

want to learn. It is difficult to think that with all the opportunities that exist today, someone does

not feel encouraged to dream with what he wants to be.

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All the above makes me think about the importance of connecting learning with the social

environment of our students. Is it important that, as teachers, we know their social environment,

their ideas, their hobbies, their reality? My answer is, absolutely yes! Why? Simply, because we

want them to learn, we want them to discover themselves, we want them to let themselves dream

that they can be whatever they want to be. I think that if they feel their reality identified in some

proportion in some content they are learning, they will not feel so distinct and that will make

their learning meaningful.

Does the social environment have an impact on a student's learning? Of course, yes. The

support, or on the contrary, the discouragement of a family towards a child can powerfully

influence their learning, above all their motivation to progress and improve. Also, the cultural

influence is important. In places where there is no equality of gender for example, we can hardly

see a young girl opening her way to be a professional, independent in all areas of her life. I

imagine, and I pray because there are exceptions in these cases.

Such as there are ways to encourage a child, there are also ways to slow down their

progress, most of the time it will be their environment and the reality they experience that does

not allow them to believe that they can achieve their dreams, but as long as they walk in a

classroom should be the teacher who makes them feel that despite the difficulties involved in

achieving what they want, they can.

Cultural Diversity Instruction

At the time when I was attending school in Chile there was not massive immigration yet

as it happens today, it was difficult and even strange to have a classmate from another country.

Today the scenario is totally different, even in some schools in Santiago specific areas there are

more immigrant children than Chilean children. Haitians, Colombians, Peruvians and now more
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and more commonly Venezuelans children fill the classrooms, light up and paint our schools in

colors, it's a wonderful cultural exchange!

As a student, I would have loved to know, even if it was a bit of other cultures and

realities, and in that way, expand my vision of life. I imagine that as a teacher it should be a good

and at the same time challenging experience to have students of different nationalities and

cultural backgrounds in a classroom. There is a lot of work that must be done to cover all the

needs that this may require. From the identification of academic and cognitive conditions to the

support at the human level for these children, passing of course for the prevention of unwanted

bullying. I think that allow to take time from obligatory curriculum to perform activities that

permit children to know their peers, their life stories, their dreams, their expectations could bring

them closer as classmates and even generate friendships that are always important to achieve

integration. Feedback. Learning for everybody.

However, what would be more optimal for immigrant children? Cultural Pluralism or

Cultural Assimilation? What would allow them to feel integrated in a new country? Let’s

analyze both. Cultural Pluralism points to the sociocultural diversity, the differences are

respected, and they are seen as a wealth for the country that receives that new influence, it is a

contribution. However, by maintaining all their cultural traditions and language sometimes

they fail to incorporate themselves adequately and generate difficulties in their daily lives.

Cultural Assimilation points to the process of integration to a dominant culture in which the

culture is lost partially or sometimes totally in the group that is integrated. What is the

disadvantage? Loss of identity. When I arrived here, I was able to observe this in the Hispanic

community. I must admit that it is sad for me to see little children of Latino parents who speak

absolutely nothing of Spanish. Could we say then that they joined the country because they know
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its language perfectly? I would say no. Many times, they seem to feel no place, neither from

here, nor from there. And what do we do then to integrate them? the change should not only

occur in them but in the whole society. Going back to the previous thing, I believe that there

must be a balance in both tendencies. When immigrating to another country, those who arrive

must incorporate themselves in the best way to this culture that receives them, but also those who

arrive have something to contribute. Soaking up this new culture without forgetting the roots,

without losing the identity, because we all have something valuable to contribute.

Curriculum for all Learners

I used to think that curriculum was the content of each subject determined for each grade,

but at the end of my first semester of Education classes I realized that I was wrong, what I mean,

my concept was incomplete. Ryan, Cooper and Bolick point out:

We define the curriculum as all organized and intended experiences of the student for which the

school accepts responsibility. In other words, the curriculum is not just the intellectual content of

the subjects taught but also the methods used to teach them, the interactions that occur among

people, and the school-sponsored activities that contribute to the “life experience”. (118)

The curriculum has a much broader spectrum than I imagined, that makes me reflect on

how important is the effective planning of the contents and activities to be developed with the

students, but also on the ability to make adjustments if necessary, depending on the reality of

each class. Personally, I will make changes based on how the students are learning, reviewing

when needed, checking comprehension, while keeping in mind that all the students come with

different skill sets and backgrounds, and by trying to make learning personal.

However, one part is the curriculum and planning, and another is the implementation of the

planned contents. Achieving these contents in an effective way is something complex many
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times, that means teachers must give the best of them to achieve this goal. Berns declares:

“Teachers who try to work closely with each child and who understand group dynamics are more

likely to provide a successful and rewarding learning environment”. (218) If a teacher delivers

the planned content thinking of each class and assess students periodically, formally and

informally we are able to improve planning and delivery so as to not waste time on contents

already mastered and focus on those items that the students are struggling with and as a result we

can achieve meaningful learning and at the same time a student progress overview.

Undoubtedly being a teacher is a challenging profession, full of daily goals to achieve,

but see the progress of each student is the best reward.

Conclusion

This work has been of great learning for me, since I have been able to discover myself

and delve into what I believe and dream.

Without a doubt, becoming a teacher in a world that is constantly changing is not easy,

but it is challenging and worth trying. I understand that my accountability as a teacher will be

really important in this process not only of learning, but also of training persons as well.

Nowadays I have a broader spectrum of the current world, cultural exchange and the challenges

that teaching entails.

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References

Berns, R. (2013). Child, family, school, community: socialization and support. Australia:

Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

Ryan, K., Cooper, J. M., & Bolick, C. M. (2016). Those who can, teach. Australia: Cengage

Learning.