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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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I believe that being a teacher activist is so important for our students and our classroom. I believe that by being a teacher by definition almost means being an activist in one way or another. I believe that being a teacher-activist is an everyday thing. There is always being scenarios in our classroom that require educators to be an activist for.  I believe that because there are so many things that educators must watch out for in the classroom, being an activist is always apart of the title of educator. When we take a stand about different issues in society and in the education system, we are becoming activist for our students about the things we know that they deserve. I believe that by being a teacher-activist, they don't complain or nag about different scenarios, they take action and they act upon the issue and they create positive change in their classrooms and for their students. I believe that as an educator it is my job to be an activist for my students and the issues that they face each and everyday. By being an activist for my students, it allows them to see that they matter to me and what they go through each day in school as well as outside of school matters and is something I will continue to work to improve. One quote that I believe expresses my beliefs about being a teacher-activist is, "Professionalism as activism recognizes that we enter our role as teachers in a democratic society with a set of commitments and responsibilities to advocate for children and ourselves as educators. That means we must speak against policies and leadership decisions that undermine our work and devalue our expertise about children and learning." (Rethinking Schools, Crawford-Garrett, Perez, Sanchez, Short, Tyson) I believe that these two sentences summarize my beliefs about teacher-activist. I believe that as an educator it is our responsibility to advocate for students when they make not have a voice, we are there voice and it is our duty to serve them and support them in the best way possible.

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I believe that collaboration is so important in the classroom. I believe that collaboration allows students to learn from their peers. They come together to discuss and share ideas around a certain topic. By collaborating, students are able to hear others ideas and thoughts and understand different perspectives and are able to learn new things from one another. I also believe that by allowing students to collaborate in small group settings, they each have the opportunity to express their ideas. Whereas if we only allow students to complete work in whole group settings, students who are more shy won't be willing to speak out and discuss their ideas. Therefore allowing opportunities to collaborate in small group settings is so important for students. One thing that I related collaboration to is the article about Trayvon Martin, the students in this classroom came together to collaborate and analyze President Obama's speech about this situation. The students collaborated and dissected this speech in order to better understand and to analyze what was said and what they took from the speech. I believe that this was a prime example of how effective collaboration can be in the classroom. By collaborating with one another and coming together to dissect and better understand what President Obama was trying to get across in his speech. Collaboration allows students to come together as a classroom community and discuss and build off of each others thoughts and ideas. Collaboration in the classroom allows students to learn from one another to allow them to develop better understanding.

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As an educator, I believe that community/family involvement foster partnerships among schools, family and community groups, and individuals. I believe that these partnerships result in sharing and maximizing resources for the students, and they help students develop healthy behaviors and promote healthy families. I believe that community and family involvement is so important in child's education because, it takes a village to raise and support a child. I believe that,  when parents and community members are engaged in schools and they participate in school activities, students are encouraged to perform better, they are more likely to attend school each day and stay engaged in their work. I believe that communities and families provide so much beneficial information to our classrooms. The communities and the families of our students allow us as educators to see who our students are outside of school and where they come from. All of this information also allows us to build a classroom community and allows us to learn more about our students and peers. Communities play a vital role in a districts school system and education, one quote that I believe that goes hand in hand with my beliefs about the role of communities is, "Local communities exercise control over public schools by electing representatives to local school boards." (Spring, 221) I believe that this is an important aspect of schools because without the input from the community, the members of the school board may be individuals without experience or reputation in the community and thus not be right for the job of that elected official position. Another quote that I believe expresses my beliefs about family and community in education is, "Families, churches, and the communities taught children moral values and social responsibility." (Spring, pg. 39) Families and communities play an important role in teaching our students important values and social responsibilities that they will carry with them throughout life. Families and communities help to foster the growth of our schools and the individuals inside them. We must honor and value our students families and communities which is where they come from.

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I believe that students learn best when...

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I believe that students learn best when...

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I believe that students learn best when they are motivated to learn by seeing the value and importance of the information that is presented to them each day. If students are not interested in the material that is presented to them, then they are not learning the information anyways. I believe that student learn best when they are able to apply what they are learning in the classroom to real life situations in the world around them. I believe that students learn best when each of their individual needs are met, if a student is a kinesthetic learner, and they are in a classroom where note taking is all they do, than they are not able to learn in the way that is best for them. I believe that learners learn in many different ways, therefore it is our jobs as educators to meet the needs of our students so they we can help them in the learning process. One quote that I believe goes hand in hand with my beliefs is that "education must provide a "means for bringing people and their ideas and beliefs together, in such ways as will lessen friction and instability, and introduce deeper sympathy and wider understanding." (Spring, 36) I believe that this relates to my beliefs about how students learn best in the sense that when education is brought together to allow students to work with and among their peers, they are able to learn in ways that can help benefit them. Students should feel comfortable in their learning process, and if they aren't comfortable working alone then this is when bringing education together comes into play, allowing them to work together to help learn in a way that suits them best.

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I believe that all my students are capable of learning, and that they all have the want to learn. I know that all students do not learn at the same pace, but I do believe that all students are capable of learning in different ways and at different paces.  I believe that all my students bring with them beneficial and important backgrounds and funds of knowledge that will help benefit and influence our classroom community. I believe that my students should be viewed as individuals who can contribute to the classroom, by sharing and gaining knowledge from their peers. I believe that all my future students serve a purpose in society and in my classroom. It is my job to assist my students to find their purpose so that they are able to pursue and excel in their purpose in the world. I believe that all of my future students should have the opportunity to pursue a quality education, and it is my job to give them the education they deserve. No matter where a student comes from, or their background, a quality education is deserved of each student. A quote that I believe describes my beliefs would be, "A fundamental aspect of multicultural education is that the different students have different ways of knowing and seeing the world." (Spring, pg. 181) This quote goes along with my beliefs in the sense that I believe that all my future students are unique and very important individuals. I want each of my students to know what they bring to the classroom is valued and is so important. My future students are unique and each bring something different with them to my future classroom. It is my job to make sure that my students feel as if they are valued, as well as if we all can learn from what they bring with them into our classroom. Each of my students unique personalities and their funds of knowledge are what make up our classroom community.

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I believe that the purpose of schooling is...

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I believe that the purpose of schooling is...

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I believe that the purpose of schooling is, to teach students to think critically about what they are taught and what they see and hear. I believe that schooling is the foundation of our intellectual life, it is teaches us how to think critically and that is a vital life skill that we will keep with us throughout our entire lives. I believe that the purpose of schooling is also to share knowledge. I believe that the reason school exists is to share knowledge among educators, administrators, and students. The knowledge that school provides us with will allow us to better ourselves in our future endeavors. I also believe that the purpose of schooling is to allow students to explore. Education leads to exploration. School allows students to explore everything in life. It allows them to explore the things they are curious about, and the things that they are taught every day. I also believe that the purpose of schooling is to expose students to as many ideas, topics and challenges as possible. The end results of all of this isn't nearly as important as the learning students will experience along the way. Another belief that I have about the purpose of schooling is that it is used to develop different types of patterns that one can apply to problems that they may encounter throughout life. With these patterns that students learn from schooling, throughout their life, in the real world, students will be able to apply their learned patterns and experiences to the different things they learn throughout life. Therefore I believe the purpose is to expose our students to as many problem type scenarios that can help to benefit them in life. One thing that I believe that relates to the readings is that schooling is very euro-centric and based upon a very white culture. As an educator, I want to be sure to incorporate the different cultures of all of my students so that schooling is beneficial for them and they feel valued and important. Another connection that I made that connects with my belief of the purpose of teaching is, "education must provide a meas for bringing people and their ideas and beliefs together, in such ways as will lessen friction and instability , and introduce deeper sympathy and wider understanding." (American
Education, pg 36) I believe that this relates to my belief in the sense that schooling should bring individuals together, and in the world today there is so much division among peers in school. As a future educator, I want my students and their families to know school is a place where we come together and share our ideas and thoughts as a community.

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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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As a teacher, there are many responsibilities that come along with the title of educator. My responsibilities not only include, asking questions, evaluating students, lecturing, praising or critiquing, assigning homework, and many other things. One of the most important responsibilities that teachers hold are serving as a role model for their students. As an educator teachers are extremely powerful influences on the development of the attitudes and behaviors of the students in their classroom. My students will learn as much from what I say as from what I do when they are in my presence. As an educator, I not only have the responsibility of encouraging my students to have a positive attitude toward learning while they are with me in my classroom, but also for the rest of their educational careers. Another responsibility that I carry as an educator is being able to plan instruction that meets the needs of each of my students in their learning processes. Before I am able to tend to and meet all of my students needs, I have to get to know my students to be able to know what each of them need to succeed in my classroom. I can do this by making connections and getting to know my students as individuals. Another responsibility that I carry as an educator is, to provide a safe and effective learning environment for all of my students. It is my responsibility that each and every one of my students feels safe and respected the minute they step into my classroom. I can accomplish this by establishing the rules and expectations of my students the first day of class. This allows my students to be aware of what is expected of them and how they are to treat others while they are in my class.

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I believe my students will learn best when I...

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I believe my students will learn best when I...

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I believe that my students will learn best when I create a curriculum that is relevant to my students communities and their lives outside of school. One quote that I believe goes hand in hand with this is, "But that's what curriculum that puts students' lives at the center does. It tells students that they matter, that the pain and joy in their lives can be part of the curriculum." (Rethinking Schools, The Classroom to Prison Pipeline, By: Linda Christensen)If we want students to be engaged in our classroom, then we must show them that we believe their home life and what they are going through is an important and beneficial piece of our classroom. I also believe that my student will learn best when I show them that I care about each and every one of them. I have to do this by creating relationships with my students by getting to know them. If my students know they are valued and they feel as if they have a relationship with me as their teacher, than they will be more prone to staying engaged and focused on the work that we are doing inside the classroom. Another quote that I believe goes hand in hand with my beliefs is, " It will take time to build relationships, and it will say, "You matter. Your culture matters. You belong here." (Rethinking Schools, The Classroom to Prison Pipeline, By: Linda, Christensen) Relationships are so important in our classrooms because, students will feel valued when they feel as if they have a relationship with their teachers. It lets them know that they are valued and they matter.  I also believe that students will learn best when I create a positive and encouraging environment. If I set the tone for my students in my classroom that it is positive and an encouraging place than I believe my students will be more engaged and ready to learn. If our classroom setting is inclusive and encouraging than students feel more ready to learn.

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When it comes to learning, I believe that students learn in different ways, depending on their different abilities, learning styles, as well as their preferences and interests. As an educator, it is my responsibility to be able to recognize and change the way that I deliver my teaching so that it fits my students needs. I  also believe that learning occurs through inquiry, which could include; questioning, exploring, etc. As an educator if I don't give my students the opportunity to explore, experiment and question the things they are learning, then they aren't getting the most out of their education as they should. Allowing my students to inquire about different topics they may be unfamiliar with, allows them to extend their knowledge and become more aware. Another belief I have about learning is that it is social, and it is enhanced by collaboration and interaction.  I believe that students learn best when they are able to interact and collaborate with their peers. I believe that it benefits them to hear and consider opinions other than their own. This allows them to look at things from a different perspective and consider many other perspectives.  Finally, I believe that learning needs to be challenging, meaningful and engaging. I believe that if students find the work they are doing useless and that it has no purpose, than they will immediately become disengaged and not interested in what they are working on. I also believe that learners need to feel valued and able to take risks in their learning process. They need to know that it is okay to take risks and make mistakes while they are learning, because the mistakes are what help shape them into the learner that they are going to become. Finally, a quote that I believe that covers my final thought about learners and learning is, “Every child, no matter who they are, how much their families earn, or where they live, should have access to a high quality education, from preschool through high school and beyond.” (American Education, 88) Deep in my heart, I believe this to be so incredibly true. Students deserve the highest quality type of learning that they can get. I as an educator can not dis-include my students from learning simply because of where they come from. Children have no say in where they live, or who their parents are or even how much their parents make. As an educator, I will strive everyday to provide my students with the quality of education that they deserve.

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I believe that teaching is much more than delivering knowledge to students. I believe that teaching is helping students learn how to learn. Teaching is basing our instruction off of the needs of our students. Teaching is adapting to any circumstance that comes my way. I believe that teaching is making a change, or making a difference in students lives. Teaching means allowing students to pursue their dreams and their passions and supporting them along the way. One quote that I believe goes with my belief of teaching is, "Fairness of selection assumes that judgement is based solely on talent demonstrated in school and not on other social factors such as race, religion, dress and social class." (Spring, 13) I believe that this relates to my belief in the sense that with teaching it's so important that we allow our students equal opportunities to excel in their learning, and not allow their race, religion, etc to influence how we educate certain students. I believe each student deserves the opportunity to receive the highest quality education. I also believe that teaching means giving students ownership over their own learning. I believe that teaching is something life long, and it means service to others. It is our job as educators to serve our students and their families to the best of our abilities, in giving them what they each need and deserve. I believe that teaching is growth minded and live giving. As educators we must be willing to forever keep learning, I believe that teaching is also learning from your students and what they have to offer and bring to the classroom. Educators learn as much from their students as their student do from them. I believe that teaching means careful, effective word choice when instructing, assessing and encouraging. I believe this relates to every reading we have read because, being inclusive is one of the most important aspects in the classroom. Teaching needs to include every culture, race, ethnicity, etc. Teaching should allow every student to feel valued and important. Finally, I believe that teaching is a gift, a privilege and it should always be about and for the students. Not every individual has the opportunity or ability to be an educator, thus teaching is a true gift.