My philosophy of education has been developing since I began my education at Illinois State University.  There are two specific virtues that have shaped my philosophy of education. These virtues are having a sensitivity toward individualism and cultural diversity, and having a great enthusiasm and courage for creativity in teaching. 

            Going into student teaching, I knew that having sensitivity toward individual students’ backgrounds and needs was really important for me to reach them.  I was fortunate to have an incredible group of second graders for my student teaching experience.  After getting to know these children over the first couple weeks, I knew that I could have a strong impact on them because there were so many learning styles to work with.  These students were also incredibly diverse in their learning abilities.  Having a group of diverse learners provides a lot of room for creativity through accommodation and opportunities to collaborate with reading specialists and resource teachers.  After gaining an understanding of who my studnets were, I was able to take their individual interests and abilities into consideration, and work with what I knew.  Each lesson was a learning experience for me as well as the students. 

            From the first week with my students, I knew that teaching was what I was meant to do.  At the beginning of student teaching, I was afraid that I might not be able to be as creative as I would need to be.  Once I met the students and got to know them, the creativity started to flow and lessons became easier to plan.  I planned more creative spelling lessons, set up math workstations on Wednesdays, and successfully implemented a unit on the solar system.  Staying positive was one of my main goals while student teaching and I had to make a conscious effort every day to encourage the students and make them see that I was excited to be their teacher.  I wanted them to remember me as a positive force in later years.  I truly wanted the enthusiasm and creativity to be contagious.  I made my best effort to do this, and the great part was that during the times that I made the effort to have contagious enthusiasm, my day went smoother, my lessons were better understood, and the students were excited and engaged. 

            After all the experiences I have had this year, I still feel that these virtues are a part of a healthy classroom.  Keeping an open mind, having a creative spirit and presenting a positive attitude bring the students into a tightly knit community.  I am proud of how much I have grown this year.  I have dealt with challenging situations more gracefully than I ever thought I could.  I have gained confidence to be creative and take risks in my lesson planning.  Most importantly, I feel I have had a tremendous impact on twenty young hearts and minds.  I have been able to be a part of their lives for a year, and I have seen each one of them grow in so many ways.  I am proud of what our class has accomplished.  I look back at my initial essay and marvel at how little I knew about teaching.  I feel that I am now finally ready to take on my first classroom and begin this incredible journey of being a teacher.