Sciaston

About Me

My name is Sandra Ciaston, and I'm in the Licensure Only PreK-6 program at ODU. I have a B.S. in Bus. Admin. from Oregon State University and worked for the Treasury Deparment for 11 years before deciding to stay home and raise my 3 kids. They are all in school now and I'd spent so much time volunteering in their classrooms and loving every minute of it that one day the light bulb went off and I thought "I want to teach!" The children are who inspire me, but it's my parents who I aspire to be like. They are both retired elementary educators and I grew up in their classrooms helping with everything from correcting papers to designing bulletin boards to reviewing books. From them I learned that teaching is not just a job. It takes a special caring person who is truly dedicated to helping their students succeed to be a great teacher and they are both the finest examples of that.

I am an "older" student, but that just means I have more life experience. ;)

I live here in the great metropolis of Suffolk with my husband, three kids and one fat hamster.

My Educational Philosophy

I have done a lot of teaching over the years, in church, as a volunteer in my children's classrooms, and for the Treasury Dept., but have never had my own classroom. I would like to be an "active" teacher, and by that I mean someone who constantly engages the students through activities and interactions. I want to make learning interesting and even exciting, even when the subject isn't. Because there is so much diversity in today's classrooms with regards to needs and abilities, I foresee alot of group learning. Hopefully there will be a good amount of technology available for the students to use. When age appropriate, I think all students should learn how to self-review and self-assess. Critical thinking skills are so important to succeed in today's world! Reading skills are paramount. It's not enough to learn from a book, what do you do with that knowledge? How is it applied to something else? I hope to motivate the students to keep thinking about the next step. What if...

I also feel that students have the right to a classroom that fosters a good learning environment where they feel comfortable asking questions and expressing their ideas.

I hope that I will be able to teach in a school that allows teachers to use the assigned curriculum as a guideline only and encourages creative teaching in order to reach as many students as possible in the classroom.