It is important for teachers to have a philosophy of education that guides their decision-making, planning, delivery of lessons and other professional responsibilities.  The first step in achieving this goal is to clearly define one’s own beliefs about the purpose of education, the role of teachers and qualities that create an environment conducive to learning.  By putting these beliefs into words, a teacher can gain a clear purpose and allow that purpose to drive instruction and relationships with students and colleagues

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I believe that an outstanding teacher is passionate about both teaching and learning, energetic, creative and collaborative.  In order to foster a love of learning in students, a teacher should model life-long learning and possess a contagious energy for exploration and discovery within the classroom and beyond.  I am intentional in my effort to express these traits in the classroom.  Early in my student teaching, I challenged myself to teach a science lesson which was related to the literature unit the class was studying.  Science is not a strong subject for me, but I put in the extra effort to familiarize myself with the concept so that I could teach it to the students.  The lesson truly was an exploration for both the students and myself in which I was able to model discovery and application of knowledge in a truly meaningful way.