My Philosophy

For our first journal entry, tell us about your philosophy of education. What motivates you, inspires you, and even directs your decisions in education?

Inividual attention is the key to education. I believe that the biggest way in which a teacher can influence his/her students is to cater to their individual needs in the classroom. No two students are alike, and for that reason, it is very important to get to know your students so that their needs are more apparent to you as a teacher. In the general education classroom, students are at many levels of intellectual, social and emotional ability, and it is essential to be as aware of your students social and emotional needs as of their academic ability.

I particularly want to go into the field of gifted education when I graduate. However, I feel as though our goal as educators of the gifted should be providing challenging and appropriate curriculum and instruction to all students. I don't agree with the idea of only providing enriched curriculum and instruction for gifted learners, the idea that the "best" students deserve the "best" curriculum, because I feel like every student deserves the best. In the field of gifted education, it is our responsibility to make sure that what we teach gifted students is not just good curriculum for all students, but that it exceeds the abilities of the average students and caters to the advanced needs of gifted learners. Another responsibility that we have as educators is to be aware and supportive of the unique social and emotional needs of gifted learners. Because of their unique abilities, they often have unique needs as well; ignoring these needs can be detrimental to their performance in the classroom.