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I believe students learn best when they...

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I believe students learn best when they...

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Have a voice in the classroom.  In one of our readings for our Literacy class we listened to an outstanding podcast by Angela Watson where she says that we must "Develop a listen-first ethic when a conversation turns to race, rather than insisting that race is irrelevant." I love this quote because my students must feel like they are being heard in my classroom since most of them will not feel like their voices are being heard outside in the real world. I hope to form a relationship with each of my students where they feel like they can talk about difficult/touchy topics in class and if they feel that they cannot tell their classmates that they can come to me to talk about it. The best way for students to learn is when they feel like they are valued, then they will engage in the lessons that are being taught each day.

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I believe being a teacher-activist is...

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I believe being a teacher-activist is...

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advocating for every student possible. Students need a voice that can be heard by the officials of the school as well as the government officials. Students need and want things so that they can become more successful but are not receiving enough resources to do so. It is important that my students know that I care about them, their feelings, and their success. Being there for my students when nobody else is is what it means to be a teacher-activist; to stand up for what our students need.

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Working together to develop our learning capacity. It is important as a teacher to make sure that my students are learning more and more each day in my class. As learning continue, my learning continues as well. I learn to become a better teacher while my students learn more concepts. It is important that the classroom is set up for collaboration between student and student, teacher and student, and class and community. We are all involved in teaching the future leaders of our community. Camaraderie, a term used in For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood, is the most important part of collaboration in the classroom.

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Very important to a school community. The community around the school and parent involvement is very important for the students. As you can tell here at school 96, the better the school community is, the more engagement the students have in the classroom. It is nice to be able to rely on parents to be able to reflect the mission that is set up in the class by us teachers and the administration.

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Essential parts of my classroom. All in all, my classroom would not be the same if even one of the students were not in the class. Even when the quietest student in a classroom is missing, the class is different than it was before. I believe each student truly is essential and an asset to the class.

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I believe the purpose of schooling is...

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I believe the purpose of schooling is...

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To be a safe-place where ALL students can learn. In chapter 7 of our American Education textbook, Joel Spring writes about the many inequities in the education system. He gives facts and statistics that show how our education system is one of power for the dominants and oppression for the others. It is quite sad just how far away we are of being an equitable nation.

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Facilitation. Simply put, but not simply done. Teaching as facilitation combats the traditional, teacher as the expert ideals. It is often hard for teachers to rely on student engagement and discussion to lead the classroom. I believe a 21st century classroom is most beneficial by helping students critique the information that they are being told through the media and are learning about in class.

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I believe my responsibilities as a teacher are...

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I believe my responsibilities as a teacher are...

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To be a facilitator of culturally relevant pedagogy. I strive to empower my students to become who they dream to be when others don't think that they can. I hope to be the positive influence that makes my students love coming to OUR classroom.

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Can be accomplished by anyone who desires to better themselves. Learning is not all taught by the teacher. Learning must be accepted and critically challenged by the one who is learning.