This I believe...

The goal of formal education is to provide a solid underpinning upon which all other learning builds. Life-long learning is the ultimate goal so teachers like gardeners must plant foundational seeds that will take root, and also provide optimal conditions for growth.

I believe that learning occurs when it happens naturally through discovery. By paying attention to students’ needs and desires, teachers can find real opportunity for teaching and learning. Learning also occurs when the senses are engaged. Good teachers try to engage as many of the senses as possible and lead children to make connections between what is being learned, and their own lives.

I believe that young children learn best by active involvement. Children’s imaginations are engaged when they listen to a story read with expression; their motor and problem solving skills are activated when they build a bridge with blocks; their social and kinesthetic skills are called into play when they sing and dance. A creative teacher will find ways to actively involve young students so that they can learn by doing.

I believe the best conditions for learning (in school) include a well-organized classroom. The environment should be orderly and responsive to the needs of students. The teacher should be well prepared. Children are comfortable in a well-run classroom because they know what to expect.

I believe that the teacher’s role in the learning process is one of facilitator. The ideal teacher is more a resource than a dispenser of knowledge. Children will learn best if they own their learning; a creative teacher will find ways for children to discover what he/she wants them to learn. The teacher can further facilitate through genuine encouragement.

I believe the parent’s role in the learning process is primary. Parents are their children’s first and most important teacher. It is the parent that teachers should seek to emulate because parents teach continually and naturally. The big lessons of life are learned through modeling parent behavior, socially, morally, and through witnessing habits of life (reading, exercise, work ethic). Parents connect their children to a place in the universe and parents give their children infinite love. That they are loved is the greatest, most lasting lesson any child can learn.