Statement of Curriculum Philosophy

Children remind me who I ought to be. They give wholeheartedly, they are sincere, and they stand in awe of life. Every moment is a learning experience, and most children cherish that moment and relish in it. I have tutored at elementary schools, done volunteer work with foster children and I was a live-in nanny of three children for a year. Each experience I have had with children has molded and changed me as well as inspired me. They make my heart smile because they inquire, persevere, trust, and love. I want to be a teacher because of my experience with children and the impact they have on me.

I want to be the best that I can be so that my students are inspired to do the same. W hat does that mean? It means that I need to expect the same things from myself that I expect from my students. It means that what I envision them to be, I need to become as well and as they learn I need to be humble and be willing to learn as well. If I, and other teachers, take the planks out of our eyes, we will be able to see the speck in our student's eyes. We will, like Gail Thompson would say, be able to hear our students hearts not just what they are saying; we will be able to see them as intrinsic beings, rather than a reflection of what they produce on paper or on a test.

My classroom needs to be warm, inviting, forgiving, patient, curious, challenging, inspiring, and encouraging. It should be a safe place; one that reflects our community and when I say "our" I mean what reflects the children. Nell Noddings would say it is a place where the students and I (the teacher) can interact as whole people. I can be real about who I am, how I feel (with wisdom), what I think and what I do so as to create that safe place for children to be themselves. I believe that children learn the most when they figure out things on their own, whey they are open to making sense of something I offer - like incorporating an idea with their perspective of the world. Aren't I also able to learn from them? The classroom is a place to experiment with ideas, not confine ideas or limit a child's perspective because it does not match with the dominant culture.

Furthermore, I do not believe that children learn from memorizing facts and regurgitating them, because learning is personal. Learning can be great especially when the focus is not on the quantity, but rather the quality. Traditionalists adhere to the idea of rote memorization of facts as "the" way to teach children. Most Traditionalists do not consider whose facts or truths children are learning or why those things are important (if at all). E.D. Hirsch clearly states that there is a culture of power and that children need to know the codes in order to participate in it. Regardless of where the child come from nationally, or what the child experiences culturally, he/she is to learn "our" history. I disagree. Children possess a wealth of knowledge, like Paolo Freire would say, if we just asked. Additionally, one person's perspective and experience is not necessarily better than another student's. E.D. Hirsch, and other Traditionalists like him, argues that students are more like manufactured products than whole people. They look at children as little birds that have to be fed knowledge in order to exist in the world outside school. What E.D. Hirsch and his buddies miss, is that these children experience the world outside school in many ways already. Children in poorer neighborhoods experience crime first hand. They might see a drug dealer on the corner of their street, or sadly, that drug dealer might be a family member. They might hear gunshots ringing and the "ghetto-bird" flying around all night long looking for that "criminal". Children, whose parents immigrated here, might not speak English. Those children lack the "English" and "Euro-centric" code that they apparently need to survive in the United States. All too often we ask students to see the past, present, and future through a Euro-centric lens. Yet Europeans do not make up the world. the world encompasses diverse peoples and cultures. California alone encompasses diverse people. Each group is unique and contributes to the world; I intend on teaching or facilitating in such a way that allows children to learn "other" people's stories in hopes to identify with, empathize with and honor them.

Additionally, multiple studies show children learn differently. Learning styles, child-development, Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and the like are major contributing factors to how a child learns. Some children are better at one subject than others. Every child is not meant to be a rocket scientist, but for the one that is I want to empower him/her with the tools and knowledge he/she will need to realize his/her dream. I believe it is my job to guide children according to their dreams.

The learning process can be a great motivating force because the attainment of a goal (ex: solving a problem) gives that child the confidence and the faith in themselves to meet the next challenge. With that said, I am not opposed to setting standards, goals, and the like. In fact, standards and goals are absolutely useful guiding forces to personal growth and improvement. Mike Csikeszentmihalyi would say such goals are necessary to complete a task. They allow children to measure their growth. The standards and goals, however, are not panaceas. They do not make education better. They do not make teaching happen. They are not a "one-size-fits-all" solution. Rubrics, testing, and the like are great. They are necessary for guiding instruction and creating tasks for students. However, students need to feel successful at a task to enjoy learning. And isn't the enjoyment of learning a motivating force to continue learning and being the best we can be at something? When children figure out a math problem after working it out for themselves, they are then empowered to go to the next step because they believe they can do it. Without entering that "zone" as Lev Vygotzky would say, children either finish a task quickly because it is too easy or they give up because it is too difficult; however, when a child enters the zone (also known as the Zone of Proximal Development) they accept the challenge, wrestle with it and then conquer it. At that point the fire has been sparked. My role is to fan into flame the desire for learning. I recognize what that means will be different for each child. HOw I assess their learning needs to reflect their differences. Mr. Popham would agree. Testing, as it is currently implemented creates a social divide, rather than assess children's real learning. Testing does not allow for differences, creativity, nor does it show a true understanding of something learned. I would use project-based assignments, group work, and writing to assess their learning. I will use tests to guide my instruction, not to base their worth on results thereof.

Additionally, it is important for me to be involved with the community and more importantly with the families of my students, due to the cultural, economic and other variances within my classroom. It is my goal to bridge the gap between school and home. I want parents to feel included in their child's education, whether they speak English or not. Next to them, I will be spending a large portion of the day every week, all year long with their kids. Rather than fighting each other, we need to work together for the good of their children...our children. It really does take a village to raise a child. I need to be available for parents to help them understand what we are doing. I also need to make sure parents are aware of the many resources, within the school and outside the school, to assist them in. Parents play a magnificent role in their children's lives.

Finally, as a teacher I want to inspire children to learn and encourage their individual desire to learn. I want to facilitate growth by offering opportunities to solve problems and think critically about their lives and their world. I will not shy away from anti-"non-white" sentiments, from current issues, from family issues and issues that are not clearly discussed in textbooks. Children contain the ability to achieve great things. Great things come in different shapes, sizes, styles and genres. I believe a teacher's job is to recognize the greatness in children and give them opportunities to realize that greatness too. I want every child to walk away from my class having learned something about themselves, the world and someone else. I hope to show them the endless possibilities that await them.

Originally written November 26, 2008
for one of my Master's classes at CSULA
with Doctor Eichenger.