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One of my motivations in becoming an educator is to create an inclusive environment. When an educator adds books, examples, or small lessons that feature similar cultures to your own, it can help the student feel seen. I remember how my kindergarten teacher would always pronounce my name in Spanish. At that time, I was thinking of how she said my name like my parents do. It's through these small gestures that I felt seen. I also remember how my fourth-grade teacher took over the nutrition/cooking class to teach the kids how to make tamales, a traditional Mexican food. He didn't have to be there, but he took time out of his day to show us. Our class was mainly Hispanic. So, of course, we were excited to make a food similar to the one we eat at home. It's these small moments that make me feel accepted and engaged in school. My teachers took the time and effort to learn our culture. I want to create a similar inclusive environment for students.

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I believe that education should empower students in their learning journey. As an educator, I want students to have a growth mindset, take risks, and actively engage with the material. I would need to cultivate a learning environment that supports all types of learning by providing different modalities in the lessons. Students will have choices in their learning, which promotes student agency and allows them to take initiative while working with materials that best support their growth. Parents play an important role as well by assisting their child with homework, helping them stay engaged and on track. Lastly, the administrator's role would be to ensure all students have access to the resources they need to succeed. Overall, I want students to feel confident in themselves, supported through their learning journey, and capable of achieving success.

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I have chosen this philosophy because I grew up with low self-esteem in my academic skills, which affected my learning. I remember hating reading because the words never seemed to click. In fourth grade, I was reading at a second-grade level, which felt embarrassing. I also scored poorly in the English assessments, and these results made me feel like a failure. It started to believe that reading and ELA were subjects I wasn't "good at."

Over time, I realized that some of my struggles came from language. Spanish was the language I felt more comfortable with, and English felt unfamiliar. If I had been introduced to bilingual books earlier, I believe I might have enjoyed reading at a younger age. If I had also been encouraged to develop a growth mindset, I might have felt more motivated to keep trying. These experiences shaped me, and I don't want any student to have a similar feeling of not believing they can accomplish their academic goals. I want them to understand that learning takes time and it's okay to make mistakes.

With my philosophy, I will incorporate accessible, engaging, and adaptable content to different learning styles. For instance, with the UDL framework, I want to ensure students have access to the material in different formats. It can be through pictures, hands-on activities, or auditory supports. I also believe that incorporating a bit of a student's identity into the lesson can help them feel engaged. For example, I can incorporate a book that will discuss different cultures or has a main character from different groups. If we are doing a story read aloud to check for comprehension, I can do both formal and informal assessments. A quiz examination may not be the strongest skill for a student. However, through different assessments, a child can have the opportunity to show their learning in different ways.

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This philosophy impacts my instruction by encouraging me to design lessons that are flexible and inclusive. I will use multiple modalities, as outlined in the UDL framework, so all students can access the lesson best suited to their learning needs. I will also incorporate students’ identities and cultures into lessons, ensuring the curriculum reflects and values who they are. The instruction becomes more of a learning process that helps students succeed in multiple ways.

For students, this philosophy empowers student agency. I want them to have choices in how they engage with the material, demonstrate their understanding, and build confidence along the way. It can feel "humiliating" when a material or lesson won't click, affecting self-esteem. I don't want anyone to feel they are not "smart enough". Hence, by providing multiple options in learning through assessments and activities, I hope they can show their strengths in different ways. Also, if mistakes are made, I want them to know they can persevere and grow from them. With this philosophy, I hope they have a positive outlook on their educational growth.

Lastly, this philosophy works towards creating more equitable learning environments by acknowledging that every student has different strengths, challenges, and cultural backgrounds. By offering various resources, assessments, and opportunities, I hope to reduce barriers in a student's learning journey. At the same time, centering lessons around a student's identity can help them feel seen or respected.  I feel like students are more eager to learn when they feel a part of a community.

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To create a classroom community, I will need to know my students. One way to get to know them is by creating a "Get to Know Me Worksheet." In the worksheet, it will ask questions such as their favorite foods, sports, colors, and hobbies. The responses will help me better understand their interests, which I can then incorporate into my lessons. By connecting instructions to what students enjoy, I can make learning more meaningful and engaging. I can also use a questionnaire to send home to the caretaker. The caretakers know more about the child. Thus, it will help me understand the student from another perspective. To build these trusting relationships, "allow for achievable and safe learning experiences where children practice communicating, facing challenges, and experiencing and regulating emotions"(Cassette & Sawyer, 2015, p. 8). These students will feel more comfortable learning if they're in a space they feel comfortable in. Hence, building relationships from day one of the school year is crucial to learn who they are.

I also want to tie their identities to the classroom. I loved how my student teaching placement had greeting cards from all the languages in the world. We always start the morning with a new greeting. If some students speak the languages, they might feel seen or heard. We can also invite the students who speak the languages if they want to teach the class how they pronounce the greeting. These small gestures help create an inclusive learning environment that values and celebrates students from different cultures.

I also believe that in the morning meeting, we can have our students get to know each other by having a student helper each day. I will pull out a popsicle stick with a student's name, and the chosen student gets to be the "star student." They will basically be the line leader for the day, dismiss students to go to line by using a finger pointer, choose a song for the morning meeting, etc. The student will also have an opportunity to bring something from home to share the next day. We will have the star student share their item and have other kids ask questions. Every student will have an opportunity to become the star student. I believe this will help strengthen the classroom community because everyone is getting to know each other. The "star student" will also have a day for themselves.

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One of the classroom expectations I want to implement is creating the rules together. If the students are in intermediate elementary classes, I want them to have a voice in their learning. It gives them agency. The rules are "meant to act as commonly understood guidelines for establishing a joyful and safe classroom where taking risks, making plentiful mistakes, and learning new skills in order to find a better way are part of the daily practices"(Cassette & Sawyer, 2015, p. 46). The students can refer back to the rules and expectations they set for themselves. It’s almost like they are holding themselves accountable for their actions.

I also believe that explanations need to be consistent. We need to "follow through, like everything else, needs routinized, intentional, and on your schedule"(Cassette & Sawyer, 2015, p. 47). To achieve this, I will need to model the expectations or build them into our daily routine, like a morning meeting. If we only verbalize the rules, some students may not take them seriously or might forget them. Hence, it's crucial to follow through on our words with actions.

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One of the routines I want to implement in the classroom is a morning meeting. We will all gather around the rug to start off the day. In these meetings, we will start with a greeting. As mentioned, I want to use foreign greeting cards so we can all learn how to say "hello" in a different language. This helps build community by celebrating and learning about many cultures. After the greeting, the meeting will include attendance, selecting a star student, a weather prediction, a month/days of the week song, and an opportunity for the previous star student to share an object. In these meetings, it combines both academic and social learning. However, depending on the grade level, the academic topic will vary. Nevertheless, I want the students to feel welcomed and in a safe space right at the start of school. The familiarity of these routines can feel comforting, but also prepare us for the school day.

A second routine I want to implement in the school day is affirmations. At the end of the school day, I want us to debrief our day. It's almost like a mental check-in. However, we will end the day with positive affirmations to start the next one strong. We will all gather around the carpet and pull out a paper from a cup that has affirmations. Whichever affirmation we pull out, we will say together as a class. These affirmations can provide emotional regulation support and help close the day with calmness. I also hope that these affirmations can remind the students that I see them as capable of great things and valued. Hence, repeating them together is a way we're all encouraging each other.

Lastly, I want to implement hand signals as part of our classroom expectations. To help students remember what each signal means, I will need to repeat them regularly. At the beginning of the school year, I could use students raising their hands to go to the bathroom as a learning experience for the bathroom hand signal. For instance, I could redirect our class to practice the hand signal together and remind them that it's the bathroom. From time to time, I will ask students to show me the signal when someone goes to the bathroom. I feel like a whole lesson on hand signals could be helpful. However, seeing the expectations come into reality can help the information ingrain to their head. Other hand signals we might use are water, tissue, quiet signal, etc. With these hand signals, it can notify me what the student needs without disrupting the flow of the classroom.