Teaching Philosophy - LS

When I become a teacher, I am going to create a safe and accepting environment in my classroom. I will
do this by creating good relationships with my students. I am aware that not every kid has to like me, but I
can still create good relationships. I am going to get to know each and every one of my students. I will
also ask them how their morning or weekend was at the start of class every day. Building these
relationships will start before school even starts. I will call each and every student’s parent and ask their
parent about their kid and take notes on everyone. At open houses I will be welcoming and make sure
both the parents and the students know that my classroom is a family.

Something that I am going to implement in my classroom to ensure a loving and accepting environment is
using inventive spelling. I will encourage my students to try their best at spelling words that they do not
know how to spell. It is something that is important to me because I was never a great speller. If the
district I am in requires spelling tests, then I will grade on the accuracy of how the word is spelled, for
example: if the word was “excited” and a student spelled it like “exsited” then they would get half the
credit. I think grading this way will improve students' confidence in their spelling. Another great thing
about inventive spelling is that when doing creative writing, the spelling of words will not interrupt the
flow of students’ creative juices.

One other thing that I will implement in my classroom, no matter the grade, is picture books. I want to
have picture books in my classroom even if I end up in a fourth-grade class. I think many picture books
also have great messages that older kids need to hear. One of my favorite picture books that I will always
read on the first day of class is Our Class is a Family by Shannon Olsen. This book brings a great start to
the year and shows that my classroom is a family and that we all support one another as a team. I will
support my students with whatever they need and make sure that they support each other while sharing
their writings.

Poetry is another thing I want to teach in my classroom. After reading all of The Write Thing by Kwame
Alexander, I have learned how important poetry is in the classroom. I will create classroom poems so that
every student can participate in a classroom poem. Teaching poetry may be a challenge, but it is a
challenge that I am willing to face for my students. I would love if I could get at least one student to be
able to use poetry as their outlet.

I will do creative writing sessions almost every day in my classroom to make sure my students are
practicing their skills and to let them be themselves. I will provide prompts that will be able to connect to
my students because I will create strong bonds with them through different get-to-know-you activities and
by having one on one conversations with all of them. I want to be a teacher who will make a difference in
kids’ lives. I want to be there when they need help and be there for their achievements, both big and
small. I want to be a part of their support system. I believe teaching writing can help with building
relationships because it will help me get to know my students better.