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People have all kinds of callings… Mine happened to become a Teacher! There are various motivations as to why I want to teach but there are two main motivations. First, I know how it feels to struggle as a student and the shame that comes with it. I do not want any student to feel that shame and as a teacher I am determined to help them get rid of that shame. Every single student is capable of succeeding, it is a matter of, if they are provided with the necessary tools to succeed. Second, as a bilingual educator I want to help those kids who are learning English as a second language. Being in school is hard enough, having to learn in a language that is not primary to their home, is that much more difficult. I'm motivated to make this transition of learning English easier for English Learners. For more than half of my K-12 school experience, I struggled with learning and mastering English. I know the baggage that comes with learning English as a second language and adjusting to a whole new culture/ community.

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I believe that building a classroom community and school community is essential for students to succeed. Students need to feel a sense of belonging, especially in their classrooms. Students need to feel motivated and wanted in order to show up to their classroom. Every single student in the classroom has a purpose, in and outside of the classroom.

Students- Come to school ready to learn, have an open mind to new ideas and knowledge that will be introduced to them. Making sure they treat themselves, teachers, staff and peers with respect. Treat others how they want to be treated.

Teacher- Provide a welcoming and safe space in and outside of the classroom. While building positive relationships with students and a positive classroom enivorment. Hear all students and provide resources to the best of abilities.

Parents/Caregivers- Ensure children make it to school when possible. Share any relevant information to the teacher and school for any needs the student may have. Be active and attentive in students’ school life. If possible volunteer when needed or/ and ask students frequent questions about how their day was at school, what did they learn.

Administration- Support teachers and their classrooms with as many needs as possible. Inform the teacher with any relevant information, information on students with IEPs and 504’s.

My teaching philosophy is guided by my personal experience in the K-12 school system in California.

As mentioned in my motivation, I struggled tremendously with learning English as a second language growing up. It was difficult to stay motivated to do well in school, especially when none of the material felt relevant to myself. Since I never saw myself in the teaching staff, readings and lessons; I remember thinking to myself, “All of this for what?”. I do not want this for my students or any student. I will select books, images, videos and any possible material for students to see themselves in. Just by myself becoming a teacher allows for students to see a more diverse staff. I never saw myself in my teachers, not even the Spanish teacher. I want those students in particular to know that education opens many doors to endless possibilities.

Additionally, I was a student who never tested well. Instead of always giving traditional tests to students, I will be open to testing students differently. Instead  I will allow students to present the material artistically, verbally, in a presentation or in any way in which they believe they are able to present the learned material. Traditional tests bring a lot of anxiety and nerves to students that are unnecessary, especially in early years of education. There are many ways in which students can present what they have learned without having to be tested traditionally.

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My teaching philosophy is guided by my personal experience in the K-12 school system in California.

As mentioned in my motivation, I struggled tremendously with learning English as a second language growing up. It was difficult to stay motivated to do well in school, especially when none of the material felt relevant to myself. Since I never saw myself in the teaching staff, readings and lessons; I remember thinking to myself, “All of this for what?”. I do not want this for my students or any student. I will select books, images, videos and any possible material for students to see themselves in. Just by myself becoming a teacher allows for students to see a more diverse staff. I never saw myself in my teachers, not even the Spanish teacher. I want those students in particular to know that education opens many doors to endless possibilities.

Additionally, I was a student who never tested well. Instead of always giving traditional tests to students, I will be open to testing students differently. Instead  I will allow students to present the material artistically, verbally, in a presentation or in any way in which they believe they are able to present the learned material. Traditional tests bring a lot of anxiety and nerves to students that are unnecessary, especially in early years of education. There are many ways in which students can present what they have learned without having to be tested traditionally.

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By intentionally and constantly including students in the classroom community and curriculum, my hope is that students will be motivated to learn and partcipate. By adding multicultural tools into the curriculum students will see that learning and being in school is relevant to every single one of them. They will see themselves in the curriculum and see themselves everywhere, not just in places where society has placed them. For example I always saw Latinos in the cleaning staff, in which there is no shame but I am here to show them we can also be the teachers, administrators and more. Being in school is a powerful tool that could allow them to go far and reach their goals. My hope is that students will see the endless opportunities that are yet to come.

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I will establish an inclusive and welcoming classroom community by first setting classroom standards as a class. Instead of being the authoritarian figure in the classroom, I will be the cultivator. I will have my students voice their opinion as to what they think are appropriate rules for the classroom. I will also establish a classroom community by having all of my students’ artwork around the classroom. Every single student will have some type of artwork up in the classroom. I witnessed that this makes students very happy to see their art up in the classroom. As mentioned before, having diverse books, images, videos and curriculum will also be part of my classroom community.

I will walk my students to the classroom every morning with a smile on my face. Once we reach the classroom I will have a cut out heart and hand. The heart will signify a good morning hug and the hand will signify a good morning high five. I will greet every student with “Good morning/ Buenos Dias (name)” before they go into the classroom. Once we meet for our morning meeting on the carpet I will ask students how they are feeling that morning. I will try and get all students to share, if not all then most of the students who feel comfortable to share.

I will build a positive student teacher relationship by asking all of my students questions about themselves. What they like, don't like, family members, favorite color and more. I also want to do a Student of the Week, where every week there is one student highlighted and celebrated. Each day will highlight something different about the student and on Friday the student will be able to choose an activity for the whole class to do as part of Fun Friday.

This will all help develop a positive student-teacher relationship. I also have the idea of adding an anonymous box in my classroom where students could leave questions, concerns, comments and just a note about anything. Some students may feel too nervous to ask or comment on something, therefore leaving a note could be a way for those students to still ask and comment.

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"Each learner brings a unique blend of experiences and expectations to each learning event" (CAST, 2018, p. 2).

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"Each learner brings a unique blend of experiences and expectations to each learning event" (CAST, 2018, p. 2).

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I will have students establish classroom agreements within the first week of school. Students will voice their opinion on what should be some classroom agreement for the classroom. After hearing from most if not all students we will then categorize agreements that pertain to one another. We will have a discussion as to why each of the categories are important and how they look. After classroom agreements are agreed upon and made then I will make a poster and have all students sign their name on the poster. This agreement poster will then be hung up in the classroom.

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“The more explicit we are with our learners about the goals and incorporate their own goals, the more meaning the learning experience will be” (Cassetta & Sawyer, 2015, p.3). 

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“The more explicit we are with our learners about the goals and incorporate their own goals, the more meaning the learning experience will be” (Cassetta & Sawyer, 2015, p.3). 

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1. Morning Greetings and Check ins

Every morning I will greet students outside our line and then walk them over to our classroom. Before entering the classroom I will greet every student with a good morning/ buenos dias. They will give either a heart for a hug or a hand for a high five before walking into the classroom. I will have students meet on the carpet, they have the choice to sit where they like as long as it's a good choice. In the morning meeting students will share how they are feeling, share any upcoming plans and more. During this meeting attendance will be taken as well as lunch count (student jobs). I will read or play something to the whole class before getting the day started.

2. Classroom Jobs

Once attendance has been taken, all students with relevant classroom jobs will carry on before the day officially begins. These jobs include (lunch count, paper person, pencil sharpener designee etc). Other classroom jobs will be given to students but there will be specific jobs that are needed throughout the day versus other jobs that will only be relevant at certain times of the day.

Every student will have a job, within the first week of school. I will pull popsicle sticks and students will pick a classroom job. These jobs are given in order to teach students responsibility and as well as building a community within the classroom. Students will work together through the jobs in order to have the classroom run smoothly throughout the day.

3. Hand Signals

During the first week of school I will go over important and relevant hand signals. These hand signals will allow students to communicate any of their needs (like using the bathroom and water). Using hand signals will also allow for students to communicate without being disruptive or getting high levels of voices inside the classroom. Using hand signals is also visually pleasing and allow for more immediate attention.

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Personally, I have not yet decided what are my views in technology in education. I would not say that I am pro or against technology in a classroom. But I do believe that technology in a classroom could be a great method of learning. It can help students grow as learning, especially with apps like iRead, Epic and many more.

What I do know is that I plan on using a Youtube for Brain Breaks in my classrooms. I will show videos of "Would You Rather?" and mini exercise videos. These types of videos work great in classrooms, kids really do need these brain breaks.

I will also be using Chromebooks in the classroom, if provided by the school. Chromebooks will be used for reading and mathematics. Within school curriculum and partnership plans, we will be using Chromebooks to learn inside the classroom.

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I will use technology as a teacher by showing Brain Break videos to the class as needed.

I also believe that using technology in the classroom is okay, as long as the activities are education, although some games are okay to use.

As an educator, I plan to use technology to AID students to reach success. By this I mean I will use resources like EPIC. Epic is an education website where students can learn. Epic is designed to adjust to students current academic level. I have seen Epic be used before and I believe that it is an excellent resources to tell us, educators where our students stands academically. Epic highlights both strength and areas of growth in students.

I will use any sources/ apps in which I think will be beneficial to students and my classroom as a whole.

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When using technology in a classroom, can be beneficial by allowing students to be more interactive (on a screen, touching and following along on screen) and it can allow a more student center learning environment. Many of the apps that are used in the classroom adjust to each individual student in order to help that specific student. There are various levels in which students are placed and slowly adjusted as they grow. Tokens and levels are used in order to help students stay motivated and with a purpose. There are also interacted Brain Breaks for students to take a break when the system believes they need it. What a GREAT idea!

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I believe that technology can advance learners by opening up a new method of learning. There are so many great apps and ideas that exist today! Many of these apps are great resources for us educators to use. I have seen Epic and iReady used in a classroom and I think it is amazing. I especially liked iReady because it adjust to a students levels and needs. At the beginning of the school year students take a diagnostic on both mathematics and reading. Note how its name, diagnostic and not test. That title withins itself is already a great adjust from the past. Through this diagnostic, students will be placed in certain levels in which the app believes they are in. It will also flag any students in which the system thinks they sped through the diagnostic. The students then go into levels and earn coins. Something that I really like about the app is that brain breaks are included in the levels. These break consist of mini videos or mini games. This helps the students stay engaged and focused for longer periods of time.

How Can Technology Contribute to Promoting Social Justice in the Classroom?

As many schools are fortunate enough to have computers or tablets in classroom, it is also reaching those students who may not have technology at home. Some students may not be so lucky to have technology at home. When students got to school and have technology, it allows a new method of learning. New apps will be used for students. But those students who do not have access to technology will also learn how to use the technology itself. For example students could learn how to type on a keyboard, settings, charger and more. Not only can technology help in education but it can also teach students how to use and take care of the technology itself.

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Cassetta, G. & Sawyer, B. (2015). Classroom Management Matter: The Social-Emotional Learning Approach Children Deserve. Heinemann

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"Teachers should be cultivators -not managers- of their classroom environment" Michelle Hope

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"Teachers should be cultivators -not managers- of their classroom environment" Michelle Hope

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Hope, M. (2021) Avoiding Common Classroom Management Missteps. https://www.ascd.org 

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Hope, M. (2021) Avoiding Common Classroom Management Missteps. https://www.ascd.org 

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"The demographics of the students body are much more diverse than the teaching staff" (Cassetta & Sawyer).

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"The demographics of the students body are much more diverse than the teaching staff" (Cassetta & Sawyer).

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CAST (2018). UDL, and the Learning Brain. Wakefield.

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CAST (2018). UDL, and the Learning Brain. Wakefield.