Miss Kelly

Miss Kelly's Classroom Website!

My Educational Philosophy

My love for teaching began nine years ago after I had my first child. Up until then I never realized that I would enjoy teaching or that I would be good at it. I may not have my own classroom yet, but I am a teacher. I have made a positive difference in my children’s lives by providing them with many opportunities for learning in an environment filled with love, warmth, and enrichment. I want to do exactly that in a classroom setting.

In my classroom I aim to bring an open mind, a positive attitude, and high expectations of each and every student. I believe that each child is unique and learns in their own way, and that what they need is a teacher who is willing to work hard and against many odds to help them learn. It is my responsibility and personal goal to identify how each student learns, and adapt instruction to meet the needs and abilities of individual students.

Thus far, my knowledge base of Special Education comes from the many courses I have taken, seminars, classroom observation, continuous reading, my previous work history as a certified daycare provider and a teacher’s aid, six weeks of practicum in a special education classroom, and the experiences I have had in raising my own child with special needs.

Having the experience of raising a child with special needs has given me a tremendous advantage of being able to relate to the special needs and feelings of families. I believe in having good communication with parents and discussing often how their child is progressing. I am very open minded and willing to listen to whatever changes or ideas parents have that they think will be beneficial. I am also very willing to answer questions to the best of my knowledge, and provide helpful information upon request. With parents, I will set goals for each child, and by using a variety of strategies, do my best to help each child reach them.

Before my future students and I begin our educational journey in my class, I believe it is important to conduct an interest survey to find out where students’ interests lie and then develop a fun yet challenging curriculum revolving around those interests. Developing a curriculum around student interests stimulates their passion to learn.

Having a positive attitude and using positive reinforcement while challenging students is important in developing their attitudes. While there will be many wonderful learning experiences, there will always be the promoting of respect for all things and all people. Students need to feel safe and have a sense of belonging in the classroom; they need to be able to express themselves freely. This will occur in my classroom, where students are helped to develop a love and respect for themselves and others in an environment in which there is an open sharing of ideas. This is the kind of classroom I will always strive to provide for my students.

To ensure educational success for my students I will incorporate all types of teaching strategies in the classroom, such as role- playing, hands-on activities, cooperative grouping, direct and individualized instruction, read-alouds and shared reading, graphic organizers such as KWL charts, concept webs, interactive boards and word walls. These will help students to consolidate information into meaningful relationships, improve comprehension of stories, organization of writing, and develop a deeper understanding of concepts. In my class students will be provided with access to hands-on activities as well as adequate time to use materials that reinforce lessons. This will provide the opportunity for individual discovery and construction of knowledge to occur. When appropriate, students will be allowed to complete art projects instead of writing descriptive paragraphs about stories or group reading assignments. When students have completed art projects, they may have the option of talking about what they have drawn and how it relates to the story. By using these types of strategies in the classroom, all achievement levels and styles of learning will be successfully addressed and challenged.

As a teacher in the field of Special Education, I feel that I have a responsibility to my students to always strive to improve and learn as much as I can on finding better ways to teach. This will involve a lifetime of exploring new strategies and new forms of instruction to incorporate into the classroom. It is my sincere goal to always provide the best individualized instruction for each and every student. No matter what, I will always put forth my best effort to reach every student and make a positive difference in their lives. Since I plan on being true to myself and these strategies that I have mentioned, I know that my students will only have good things to say about their experiences in my classroom.

Created By: Kelly Bunce

kellydb24@yahoo.com

Site hosted by: SUNY Plattsburgh

Site Last Updated: April 13, 2009