In my eyes, the purpose of education is to cultivate skills for students to think critically by developing a joy and curiosity for learning. I am interested in teaching in a school that pushes the boundaries of what education can do and fosters happy and driven students. I want students to be largely in control of their own discussions and writing process and reflect on their own learning often. Student agency and buy-in is essential for student success and self-motivation.
My teaching methods are primarily student-centered. My favorite activities are those that promote active participation (often with movement or a creative component) as well as deep thinking. I enjoy teaching students ways in which to effectively communicate and then stepping back to allow students to facilitate their own whole-class discussions, Socratic circles, and philosophical chairs. When teaching writing, I focus on clear instructions and rubrics, exemplar essays (written by me or former students), and daily feedback on progress. When choosing main texts or supplementary readings, I aim to include voices of underrepresented writers such as women, people of color, differently-abled people, and immigrants. Reading texts that include varied voices helps students identify and empathize with characters and cultures. I measure student achievement by looking closely at growth. By comparing student writing from the beginning of the year to the end, I can see what skills students accomplished and what skills they are still striving to master. I think carefully about the feedback I give because I want it to be helpful and clear. One way I do this is through live grading: I sit down with a student while he or she reads the essay to me. We will then go through it paragraph by paragraph, discussing its strengths and weaknesses. Ultimately we will decide together where the paper scores in each category of the rubric. Because students are involved in the assessment process, I have noticed many more students revising their papers. Students have also given me feedback that this process makes them feel that I really care about them and their success. In high school I started to see myself as a future teacher because I loved what my teachers had done for me. I wanted to be doing meaningful work every single day, and that is exactly what I have found in teaching. I continue to try new teaching methods and activities, teach challenging texts, and work to build strong relationships with students. My love of teaching has only grown as I have practiced.