Jnemo001

ALL ABOUT ME

My name is jnemo001, well that's been my identity for the eight years I've been in school. I live in Hampton, VA and have been here for ten years. I have three children which is why it has taken me so long to graduate, which I will hopefully be doing this fall. O.K. my fourteen year old is reading over my shoulder and wants me to write that he does not like being refered to as a child. So I have two children and one teenager who knows all.

I am not sure when I realized that I wanted to be a teacher but I have held many jobs where I ended up running the training for the company. I guess I have always been able to help others understand a concept or to see another persons point of view. I connect well with children and would love the opportunity to share my knowledge. I have struggled with the decision of what grade level to teach. When I started school I wanted to work with young children but then my son entered school and I spent some time in his classrooms and realized that all children do not behave equally. So I have decided that third or fourth grade would be perfect for me. I love transition ages and for me around fourth grade children stop being "little kids" and become a little more responsible. This of course is just my opinion based on my experiences.

MY PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION

I have to say that I have never sat down and thought out a philosophy of teaching or considered the different classroom problems. I always considered that as a teacher it would be my job to teach each student the necessary information for that grade level and beyond if possible. If there was a student who needed to be taught differently than I would do what I could to accomodate that student whether it was a language barrier, special needs, or "at-risk" students which I can only assume means students who are at risk of falling behind or falling out of the system. I have always believed that everyone deserves equal treatment in that everyone deserves to have the same opportunities in life. I am not as naive to believe that everyone feels this way and I know it is easier to but people into catagories and seperate them into "like" groups than taking extra time to ensure their success. For example; if I had a few students in the class who were "at-risk" or special needs or spoke another language, I think with good organization and time management that these students could be given the extra attention they need to complete assignments or understand concepts. I have never been in the classroom as a teacher but I am someone who has always gone the extra mile (to use a cliche) to acomplish my goals.

I envision my future classroom would be more group assignments than lecture. After a certain point in all lectures people stop listening. My classroom would have to be engaging and interactive. I would like to be able to motivate the students to learn concepts. When a subject is interesting it is more easily learned.

I would like to comment on one question that my opinion may change on but I have felt strongly about for many years. Should we have a national curriculum? I always thought that what I learned in school was learned by everyone. Until I move to Virginia. I do not want to offend anybody. The concepts that my son learned in one grade are concepts that my niece who lives in NY and is the same age learned a year earlier. She is ahead in almost every subject. I have half-sister who is also in the same grade as my son (I know) she lives in NJ and is at the smae level as my niece but again ahead of my son. Now my son is pretty smart and his father and I have an active interest in his education but not everyone has that and I can see students falling behind or moving to another state and not being able to catch up. This can be devastating to the mindset of a student. So I think there should be a national curriculum with room for community reflection. The students should learn about the history of their state and city they live in but they should also be able to transfer to another school in another state and still be on target. We shouldn't lower standards to make ourselves look good that's insulting to the students. We should make ourselves look good by doing what is necessary to educate every student.