Ms. Johnson's Classroom Webpage!

            In my classroom, I believe my role as the teacher is to create a safe and caring community of learners. Just as Maslow’s Hierarchy illustrates; learning can only occur once students feel physically and emotionally safe (Gutshall, 2015). I also firmly believe that our differences are what make the world come alive and allow us to learn. Thus, I feel that the most fundamental lesson I can teach my students is that they are all brilliantly unique and different, and that is A-Okay! In my classroom, to be different, is to be awesome! Similarly, differences in beliefs are celebrated, recognized, defended, and sometimes, respectfully opposed!

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            In my classroom diversity is celebrated and we are to learn from it. All cultures and backgrounds are valued in my classroom and contribute to our unique classroom community and group knowledge. I teach my students it is just as important for them to respect their classmates, accept their classmates, and value their classmates as it is for them to respect, accept, and value themselves. I communicate to my students the importance of confidence, self-love, kindness, and compassion, and I teach them that injustice anywhere, is a threat to justice everywhere.

 

            In my classroom, I treat every student, and individual that enters, with respect, and I expect my students do the same. I hold firm that establishing expectations, rules, procedures, and consequences, as well as focusing on developing a safe, caring, and respectful community at the start of the year saves countless hours spent correcting un-acceptable behavior later. I use community building lessons, games, and activities, and focus on teaching empathy, acceptance, social and emotional learning to begin. I use “banking time” in order to learn about each of my students, form a relationship, and better help support them (Booker, 2016).

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            I believe communication is key to success and I begin the school year with a positive phone call, welcome card, and family night in order to meet my student’s families to learn about my students, create strong and cooperative relationships with their families, and learn how to best support my students before they enter the classroom. My past experience in the classroom has allowed me to learn that teachers have a variety of beliefs, practices, and styles when it comes to student behavior and discipline. I have learned my teaching style is very nurturing, I enjoy a more democratic learning environment, and take a more natural approach to addressing student behavior. The classroom environment my students and I create is largely determined by our experiences outside of the classroom. I try my best to be a culturally conscious teacher and to make material and content relative to all of my students throughout the span of the year. 

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             My classroom is  warm, welcoming, and inclusive, and reflects my open mind, belief that all students can learn, and supports a constructivist teaching approach. Inside my classroom, trust, honesty, kindness, curiosity, collaboration and respect live. I expect put their best effort forward each day. I teach my students that as a team we are more successful, knowledgeable, and strong, than we are as individuals.  I place significance on teaching my students the importance of character, democracy, and justice, as well as how their actions have an affect others. Lastly, in my classroom I communicate that it is alright to make mistakes. After all, making mistakes allows us to learn from them!  In my classroom knowledge is power, community is strength, and effort drive success.