Liberty Elementary School, Grade 4

“I believe children are amazing people, and I am so glad that God saw fit to bless me with the gift of teaching. When I think of my educational philosophy, I think of high expectations. I want my students to know that they are capable and that the work we do each day is important. We don’t have time to waste by doing anything but our best and, therefore, quality work is not a high lofty goal, but a daily goal. If we are going to try something new or learn something different, then let’s do our best the first time and learn and set goals from there. The key to success is to expect more of myself each day than I did the day before and to work hard to teach my students how to do the same.

"I also believe in a safe atmosphere for learning. While a physically safe atmosphere is a non-negotiable, so is an intellectually safe atmosphere. I work hard to try and create a place where students can share reading connections, ways to solve math problems, or ideas about why science works without feeling like someone is going to judge them or ridicule them. We are in this together as a class and while our individual successes in learning are critical, so is our group success and how we support and build our classroom community of learners. While I could go on forever regarding how I believe learning should be structured, I want to end with the fact that I think fostering a community where children like to be is the ultimate key to learning. I want my students to know that I care, I smile, I enjoy them, and I am glad to be part of their lives. I play a role for one year in who they are and who they ultimately become, and I hope that they remember how it felt to be in my class and what we as a class stood for.”