My philosophy on education is that the success of our nation depends on a
well-educated population. Our system of representative democracy is based on
the citizens of our country having the knowledge, understanding, and wisdom
necessary to make the best decisions for everyone in our society. Education is
the cornerstone of our way of life, and Americans need to have a good
understanding of spoken and written language, mathematics, science, history,
the arts, and physical fitness. In addition, successful citizens tend to
possess certain key characteristics: self-discipline, self-motivation, a
desire to learn, a drive to excel, time-management skills, a sense of honor
and pride, the willingness to work hard, and a strong internal moral compass.
I believe it is the job of parents, teachers, and everybody who interacts with
our children to model and reinforce these characteristics.
The “Golden Rules of Teaching” guide my interactions with my students:
- I will treat my students as I would want my own children to be
treated by their teacher.
- I will teach my students in the same manner
that I would expect my own children to be taught.
- I will hold high expectations for my
students, just as I would want my childrens’ teachers to hold high
expectations for them.
- I will be a positive role model for my
students, as I would expect others to be positive role models for my children.
I believe every child should have access to a quality education. I am
committed to:
…teaching lessons based on the California
state content standards for fifth grade in English/Language Arts,
Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies.
…assessing students during and after lessons to check for
understanding of the standard, and intervening when students do not learn the
standard. This could involve small-group instruction, reteaching the lesson in
a different way, or other interventions.
…providing feedback to students and parents in the form of
weekly printed progress reports.
…communicating with parents via the Weekly Report, sent
home every Monday and uploaded to my website in PDF format.
…keeping lines of communication open with parents by
returning emails and phone calls no later than the close of the next business
day.
…interacting positively with students in the form of honest
feedback, constructive criticism, and encouragement. I do not use sarcasm with
students as I feel it is ineffective and unclear.
…holding high expectations for students. I believe students
will rise to the expectations that their parents and teachers set for them. I
also believe that all of my students can and will learn.
…working with my colleagues to provide the best instruction
and intervention possible.
…challenging high-performing students. If a high-performing
student finds that all of his/her assignments are too easy, and can earn A’s
effortlessly, I believe the student isn’t being challenged. High-performing
students sometimes don’t like to be challenged, but I feel it’s necessary to
help the student reach his/her full potential.
…providing structure and discipline in the classroom. I
believe fifth-graders need structure, discipline, safety, and fairly-enforced
rules in order to thrive in the classroom and at school.
…teaching and modeling positive ways to get along with
others.
…respecting the dignity of each student in the classroom.
…enriching the curriculum and providing experiences to
encourage individual students to develop interests.
Students can receive a quality education when they are ready and willing to do
their best on the tasks and assignments I give them. I expect every student to
put their best effort into every lesson, project, and assignment. I will not
give assignments just to kill time or to keep students busy. Every assignment
has a purpose: (1) review, (2) practice, or (3) extend one’s learning.
For homework, I use the SUSD
guideline of 10 minutes of homework per grade level. For fifth-graders, this
means 10 (minutes) x 5 (fifth-grade) = 50 minutes per night. I assign homework
every night from Monday through Thursday and sometimes over the weekend. Most
assignments are due the next school day, and if an assignment is due later, I
will have students write this down in their homework planners. A student who
is working diligently and using time-management skills should finish each
night’s assignments in 50 minutes or fewer. If your child needs much more
time, please let me know so we can work together to help him/her. All
assignments will be written by the student in his/her homework planner. When I
check the assignment, I will place a blue stamp in the planner if the
assignment appears to be acceptable. A red stamp means the assignment is
missing, incomplete, messy, or otherwise unacceptable. I do not grade the
assignment while I’m stamping planners, so a blue stamp doesn’t necessarily
mean the assignment was correct. Grading takes place later. Some of the
methods I will use to grade assignments will be:
- Self-correction by the student as I read the answers to the class
- Partner-correct as I read the answers to
the class
- Spot-check pre-selected questions/problems
- I collect assignments and spot-check
- I collect assignments and correct each
question/problem
I will use a combination of these grading methods. Some assignments will be
kept by the student, some will be turned in, reviewed by me, and then returned
to the student. Sometimes I will file assignments for recordkeeping purposes.
I will enter the scores for graded assignments into my gradebook.
Any student receiving a red stamp will automatically receive a 15-minute lunch
detention in the classroom. Students will need to “clear’ the red stamp by
turning in the assignment, and they will continue to receive lunch detentions
until all red stamps are cleared. If I issue a red stamp, the student must
serve lunch detention that day, even if the assignment is completed before
lunch. This is to ensure that all students have their assignments ready and
complete at the beginning of the school day. The only time I will clear red
stamps will be in the morning between 8 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. I occasionally give
“Get Out of Detention” passes that will allow a student to avoid lunch
detention even if he/she has received a red stamp. However, the student is
still responsible for turning in the assignment and clearing the red stamp to
avoid a lunch detention the next day. I will contact parents of students who
habitually receive lunch detention, because this suggests that the student has
academic or time-management issues that need to be addressed so he/she can
succeed in fifth grade.
My classroom rules are:
- Follow all directions the first time given
- Treat others with courtesy and respect
- Keep hands, feet, and objects to yourself
- Bring all needed materials to class
- Don’t talk while I am talking
I will follow Lone Star’s schoolwide policy of maintaining a daily behavior
chart in the classroom. Each student has a pocket with five cards. A behavior
infraction means the student must “change his/her color”. The colors mean:
- Blue = Extraordinary behavior/citizenship. (qualifies for
weekly Eagle Blue drawing)
- Green = Default setting. This means the student hasn’t
had any infractions today.
- Yellow = Verbal warning.
- Peach = Meet with teacher/recess detention.
- Purple = Student calls home.
- Red = Meet with principal and call home. Loss of all
privileges.
I do not allow iPods, MP3 players, digital cameras, personal game systems such
as Nintendo DS, GameBoy, etc. during class time. I strongly suggest that
students leave these items at home to avoid loss.
I understand that cell phones are a convenient way of making sure children are
able to contact parents in case of emergencies or to coordinate rides and
after-school arrangements. Unfortunately, cell phones can also cause problems
at school due to inappropriate use of texting, and picture-taking. It is also
very disruptive when a phone rings during class. I don’t mind of a student has
a cell phone in his/her possession (pocket, backpack, etc.) but I do not want
to see the cell phone during class. If I see a cell phone or hear one ringing,
I will need to keep it for the rest of the day. I encourage parents to help
their children to remember to silence their phone before arriving to class.
Sanger Unified School District is implementing the Olweus
Anti-Bullying Program this year. This highly-effective program will be
used schoolwide. The four rules of the program are:
1. We will not bully others
2. We will try to help students who are bullied
3. We will try to include students who are left out
4. If we know that somebody is being bullied, we will tell an adult at
school and an adult at home
Fifth grade is a fantastic year. Students are ready to move into more abstract
concepts and learn a great deal about the world around them. I’m excited to be
a part of this journey and I’m looking forward to an amazing year of learning.
