Teaching students is so much more than just reading to them from a textbook. Teaching is motivating students; it's facilitating their learning; it's challenging the students academically; and it's supporting supporting their learning abilities at whatever level they may be. Teaching is continually growing as an educator and as a learner. Teaching is touching the lives of our students.



​Learning happens when students are actively engaged. Active learning and social interaction are important in the learning process; psychologists Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky also believed this to be true. The best learning goes beyond lecture and listen. Structuring lessons to include discussion allows for students to learn from multiple perspectives and to evaluate and adapt their own; this is critical thinking - this is learning.



​The best learning happens when students have a positive, safe learning environment. Creating a physically and emotionally safe environment where students thrive as learners and as citizens is critical in developing discussion as part of the culture of the classroom. In building that culture, it is important to address the different levels of learners and the different types of learners that each student is. All students can learn when they are accepted for whom and where they are in their educational journey. “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid” -Albert Einstein. Differentiated instruction is integrated into my teaching in order to best help all my students. What is fair is not always equal. By incorporating adaptions for my students, I create an emotionally safe environment where they actively participate and share their ideas.