Overview of Teaching Philosophy

My main goal as a teacher is to motivate my students to be life-long learners. I want my students to enjoy learning, and to seek answers to their own questions. I will do this by providing them with enjoyable learning experiences and "real-life" activities. I feel that a large part of making my classroom more real to life is by crossing curricular lines. I want to set up projects with teachers in other subject areas, and to bring art and drama in to my English and Science classes. Life is not divided into subject areas, and I don't want my classroom to be either.

I see the classroom as a community of teachers and learners. We will work together as a class to teach and learn from each other. I wish to fill the class period with discussions and projects.

I also believe in teaching in a variety of styles to meet the needs of all kinds of learners. Students' knowledge will be tested in various ways, not just the traditional written test. I want students to keep a portfolio of their work, so that they can track their individual growth.