my+philosophy+of+teaching

As a mother of four young children, I look at education from two points of view: that of a parent who wants the best for her child and that of a teacher who wants success for all of her students. I try to be fair, reasonable, and understanding of students' needs while presenting a challenging language arts program to prepare students not just for testing, but more importantly, for the real world.

I expect my students to take responsibility for their own learning just as they should expect me to be competent, prepared, and caring.

I will enforce expectations as consistently as I can, taking into account that sometimes seemingly similar situations call for different approaches. I treat my students the way I want my children's teachers to treat them. Positive behavior will be rewarded. Negative behavior will be addressed swiftly. I want to focus my time and energy on teaching.

I try to maintain a sense of humor and patience. I have four children at home - I have a lot of practice!

By the end of the school year, I measure success not just by scores on tests and numbers in the gradebook, but by the emerging sense of responsibility, thinking skills, and mature attitudes I have tried to help my students cultivate in themselves. Each year in middle school, more self-reliance is needed on the part of the child who is rapidly becoming a young adult. Given that a 7th grader in June is 15 months away from being a high school student, it is important that we as a team, teacher and parents, help the student navigate the challenging course of middle school while teaching them to guide themselves.