What do I want? Do I expect students to have utter mastery of biology when they leave my class at the end of the year? Do I expect them to walk me through the light and dark reactions in photosynthesis 10 years down the road? No.
Within my students, I try to create passion and curiosity for the natural world. To have credibility to create passion and curiosity by sharing my knowledge, I need to gain the students trust and show I care. By showing interest in students lives, attending sporting events, having a sense of humor, tutoring after school and during my planning period, calling parents, being prepared to teach everyday, listening, offering advice and support I have gained the trust of my students, and students are open to and respect my knowledge of biology and most times students want to learn.
Like the oven when making bread, the classroom in the process of learning cooks the ingredients. I try to make my classroom a welcoming caring environment where everyone can learn. At times in my class we have cooked food, acknowledged birthdays, acknowledged a students last day. My fifth grade teacher, Mr. Donagher brought us to the playground, gave us flour, salt and water and we mixed them into a paste. We started a fire and cooked Australian bush bread--Damper--on a grill in the playground of the school. The day he integrated this food into the class, our class seemed a little more like a community, left me curious about local bush culture, and the food we ate served as the lesson and left me wanting to learn more. I try to mimic that feeling in my class.
Within my students, I try to create passion and curiosity for the natural world. To have credibility to create passion and curiosity by sharing my knowledge, I need to gain the students trust and show I care. By showing interest in students lives, attending sporting events, having a sense of humor, tutoring after school and during my planning period, calling parents, being prepared to teach everyday, listening, offering advice and support I have gained the trust of my students, and students are open to and respect my knowledge of biology and most times students want to learn.
Like the oven when making bread, the classroom in the process of learning cooks the ingredients. I try to make my classroom a welcoming caring environment where everyone can learn. At times in my class we have cooked food, acknowledged birthdays, acknowledged a students last day. My fifth grade teacher, Mr. Donagher brought us to the playground, gave us flour, salt and water and we mixed them into a paste. We started a fire and cooked Australian bush bread--Damper--on a grill in the playground of the school. The day he integrated this food into the class, our class seemed a little more like a community, left me curious about local bush culture, and the food we ate served as the lesson and left me wanting to learn more. I try to mimic that feeling in my class.