Kallie Bolzhuetei

Piofessoi Stockton
EBR S1u
1u Naich 2u14
Fosteiing Tiue Leaining

Ny classioom may seem like anothei ioom similai to the iest in the school, but it
consists of much moie than just uesks, chaiis, anu chalkboaius. Ny stuuent will not simply
sit at uesks listening to me lectuie anu be scolueu when they misbehave. Ny classioom is
one in which all cultuie has high value, the expectations iest on a bai set high, stuuents
have iesponsibility ovei theii own uiscipline, anu the teachei will employ a vaiiety of
stiategies will help stuuents leain anu fully unueistanu the cuiiiculum. The classioom
centeis on stuuents; I as the teachei have knowleuge to pass on to them, anu they can
uiscovei othei knowleuge on theii own thiough a vaiiety of leaining oppoitunities. I can
also leain a gieat ueal fiom my stuuents.

Cultuie is something of high impoitance in my classioom. All stuuents come fiom
uiffeient backgiounus, anu no two stuuents have exactly the same cultuie (not even
siblings). Because of this, it is essential that the stuuents anu I have the ability to tiy to
unueistanu otheis' peispectives anu iespect anu appieciate them. Cultuial pluialism is
evei-piesent in my classioom. I piefei this because in a pluialistic setting, each stuuent
maintains inuiviuuality, but all of them mesh anu woik well togethei, auuing to the oveiall
cultuie of the classioom. 0n the othei hanu, all stuuents blenu completely togethei in an
assimilateu classioom, anu all stuuents lose theii inuiviuuality. I uo not piefei this
appioach because all stuuents come fiom uiffeient backgiounus anu biing uiffeient
expeiiences to the classioom that aie valuable in the leaining piocess.

I set the expectations high foi my stuuents, anu I will not lowei them if stuuents
stiuggle oi if they uon't put foith the effoit. Rathei than loweiing the expectations, I will
help my stuuents with whatevei they may neeu to iaise them up to the level they neeu to
ieach anu help them meet the high expectations. This will fostei leaining. I will always set
expectations at a ieasonable level, though. This level must be high enough to challenge
stuuents because if it is too low, they will become boieu. But it also must not be completely
out of stuuents' ieach because this will cause excessive fiustiation that coulu cause
stuuents to give up completely. I will focus on keeping all stuuents in theii zone of pioximal
uevelopment. I also want stuuents to be active leaineis iathei than passive; they shoulu
inteiact with the cuiiiculum anu connect with it so they can leain it. Foi example, stuuents
will leain vocabulaiy by cieating stoiies using the vocabulaiy. When stuuents succeeu at
leaining new infoimation in my class, they will gain self-confiuence anu want to keep
tiying theii best. I am awaie that stuuents also have expectations set foi me. I know they
expect me to pass help them gain knowleuge anu giow as a peison. 0ne of my main goals is
foi all of us to meet the expectations we set foi one anothei.

Although the cuiiiculum is most likely alieauy set by the school, I will make it
engaging foi stuuents so I can captuie theii inteiest. I want to uo this because ieal leaining
takes place when stuuents have the uesiie to leain. I will help stuuents leain thiough
expeiience anu uoing iathei than just ieauing, memoiizing, anu ieguigitating it back to me
on a test. It is impoitant foi them to be able to think ciitically in oiuei to be able to fully
unueistanu anu ietain the infoimation they'ie leaining, so I will uesign activities in which
stuuents peifoim using highei levels of Bloom's taxonomy, such as analysis anu evaluation.

Biscipline piesents itself as a sensitive topic because by showing too much powei, I
coulu iuin the ielationship I have with my stuuents anu cause them to iesent me. If this
happens, they will shut me out anu theiefoie will not be able to leain in my classioom.
They also may become hostile anu act out against me if I exeicise too much powei. But if I
uo not show any authoiity at all, stuuents will also not be able to leain because too much
chaos exists in this type of enviionment. Fiist anu foiemost, I neeu to act as an example foi
my stuuents. I will keep my emotions unuei contiol at all times, anu I will follow all
classioom iules anu pioceuuies. I must piactice what I pieach so they stuuents can see the
impoitance in it. I will use positive classioom uiscipline, wheie ieinfoicement seives as the
main methou. This methou is self-eliminating, so it will iequiie a gieat ueal of woik in the
fiist few months of the yeai as I tiain stuuents what I iequiie of them, but eventually these
iueas anu expectations will become habits. I will set guiuelines anu positive anu
enfoiceable iules anu pioceuuies foi my stuuents to follow. I will use limit-setting anu
pioximity contiol to eliminate unacceptable behaviois. Ny piesence anu pioximity will
help stuuents iealize they aie uoing something they shoulu not be, anu they will coiiect the
behavioi on theii own. I also have a backup plan in place uealing with the consequences
stuuents ieceive in case some stuuents uo not comply. The main goal I set with this methou
involves teaching stuuents they aie iesponsible foi themselves anu theii actions, a skill
that is neeueu in eveiyuay life.

The stiategies I use tie in tightly with each of the pievious aspects I've uiscusseu. I
want to engage stuuents in the cuiiiculum anu help them take iesponsibility foi theii own
leaining anu foi theii actions. Thiough the use of meaningful classioom activities, stuuents
will gain a uesiie to leain, anu they will want to know moie. I think of each activity oi
pioject as an oppoitunity to leain iathei than just a hoop to jump thiough. Although I caie
about giaues, the oveiall leaining matteis most. Thiough the use of these methous, I will
help stuuents meet my expectations in the piocess.

All in all, my classioom focuses on stuuents anu helping them see the value in theii
leaining. I hope that by employing these five pillais of peuagogy in my classioom, I will
help my stuuents become lifetime leaineis.