However, before I jump straight into the three Rs I have decided to be the guiding points of my philosophy, I must first set the foundation of my philosophy. This foundation is built of a combination of passion for what I teach as well as the understanding that all of my future students are unique individuals who I will know nothing about at the start of every year. While my passion for the subject of English, and all that it pertains, is something that pushes me to continue my efforts in helping students understand it better, I believe that is not enough to get them to actually understand it. In order for me to do so, I need to know what drives them to learn. And not just "learn" as it is connected to school, but to life in general. Every student has different passions and interests that makes them engaged in one thing over another. It is up to me to get to know my students well enough to find the thing that will help get them, and keep them, engaged in English.  

The age-old question that is a key sign of a student's disengagement is, "What is the point of this?" Well, it is part of my philosophy that I be the one to address this question in my classroom prior to my students feeling the need to ask it. Students ask this question not because they think it is unimportant to learn these skills but because they want to know why they should care about learning these skills. I want to provide my students with a reason to care from the start of a lesson and it is through that first R, relevancy, that I intend to do so. 

In my studies, I have read many theories about the importance of relevancy, but even more importantly, I have seen the effects of ensuring its place in the classroom. I have seen students going from glazed eyes not sitting upright in their chairs and shooting their hands in the air simply because of connecting themes from a novel to a song by their favorite artist. It is no question that when a student is interested in the topic, they simultaneously learn and work better. 

The second R, reflection, comes from my belief that as teacher I am meant to be a forever-student. There will always be new theories and practices I can research and learn about to make myself better. However, I can also make myself better through reflecting every day on my teaching. Asking myself which of my students were engaged and which were not. Theorizing how to make the material more relevant to the interest of my students. Analyzing my own words and actions to ensure they were the best ones to get the point of the lesson across. And then, learning from all of that reflection and going into the next school day ready to do it again, but better.

Finally, after my reflection, it is important that I am willing to readjust my style of teaching to better suit my students. It is also through this idea of readjustment that I recognize the importance of talking and listening to my students on the thoughts they have on my teaching and how they believe I can do better.

I am a teacher for my students. And it is through relevancy, reflection, and readjustment that I hope to put them and their needs first in my classroom. 

            Yes, you heard that right

A blue frog

 

It hopped from the page 

            Into my mind

And I could not seem to let go

            Of the way my papa 

Made it come to life

            

With words so beautifully bound 

together

I knew that was what I wanted to do 

Forever

 

Yet, before I could, I apparently

            Had to learn

            How to read

            To write
To build bridges from this world 

                        To the ones that sat     behind my eyes

 

So, I dove into learning

       Devoured sentence after    sentence

Until I ate so many, I had to spit out ones of my own

         To keep from getting too full

   To allow enough room for more sentences to come through

 

I listened to my English teachers

            Talk about the way books move

            And it was like that lyric in that song

            “And the holy spirit was moving too”

 

And I asked my papa 

When he first felt the words and the worlds move in him

And he said “When I decided I wanted to teach”

 

And I asked my grandma 

Why she smiled whenever she read

And she said “Because when I do, I think of all my students who will love this story”

 

And for a while, I knew I wanted 

     To share with others 

                   How the books moved

     To give pieces of my passion

                      To students as seeds

And help them grow their own

 

But, then I learned there was more to English                                                      than just the words

There were student voices being left unheard

 

Voices that spoke of different experiences,                                                     treatments,                                                          harassments

Voices that could not find themselves in the words of

            Fitzgerald,

                        Twain,

                                or Shakespeare

 

So, I began to work on how I could be a better teacher

                            to these students Thinking of ways to bridge the world they experience                                And the world they learn in

Hoping that

            Somewhere along the way

I will support and aid the change that these students                                                           Will bring