Philosophy of education: Oftentimes, Christian educators get stuck trying to decipher when and how to integrate the Bible into the subjects, but I believe that there should be no segregation between the two. God can and should be glorified through studying every subject and glorified in every classroom conversation and interaction, planned or candid. Biblical integration must never be a passive element of curricula but instead it must lead curricula in acknowledging Christ as the meaning and giver of life! (Matt. 5:15–16) It is the Christian teacher's duty to guide the class in this position. Overall, the purpose of education is for each child to reach their full potential academically, socially, and spiritually.

 

Philosophy of learning: God cares for the whole of the individual, spiritually, emotionally, physically, cognitively, and socially (Rom. 12:1-2). Similarly, a Christian educator must also care for every student holistically, teaching to their head, heart, and hands- acknowledging that each learner is unique and specific in his or her needs. Education should continuously stretch each learner, prompting students to investigate beyond their familiarities both locally and globally, as they learn to care for the needs of others as well as themselves (Philippians 2:4). A teacher's role in the learning process of a student is to teach them how to be life-long learners, inside and outside of the classroom. 

 

Philosophy of classroom management: God created man and woman in him image, set a part from the rest of creation. Made in the image of the Creator, every student is to be treated with equal value and love. I believe the goal of classroom management is for the teacher to demonstrate and teach students the beauty and sanctity of life, respecting one another and exemplifying the Fruit of the Spirit to any and everyone they meet, especially while in the classroom. The classroom must be a safe environment where each student is encouraged to be themselves. Because of this, there is no tolerance of bullying. In addition, there should be no division between grace and justice within the classroom, since Christ so evidently fulfilled both for us through the cross (1 John 4:10, Teaching Redemptively by Donovan Graham, 42). 

Personally, I gravitate towards a quieter and more calming classroom presence, individually approaching students who are struggling with self-control or moderating emotions, instead of publicly making known students' misbehaviors. As the leader and teacher, if a student is continuously not responding well to discipline or authority, the next step would be to turn to the school's principle, as well as contacting the students' parents. 

Overall, I believe in including the students' parents in as much of the school experience as possible, so if an email is sent to parents about their child's behavior, this will not have been the first email from me.

 

 

 

 

Philosophy of reading/writing: God created our minds to be able to create and appreciate beautiful things. While we read and write, we can learn our differences and similarities with others; our preconceptions are challenged, and we learn how God has created the world so unique. It is the teacher's job to model the love of reading and writing through sharing examples of their owning reading and writing at home and by establishing a positive view in the classroom towards the subjects.

Countless research has been done to show the impact that reading to children, even from birth, has on their development of reading and learning in general. Not all students have the privilege of growing up with access to books, or with someone that can read or talk to them, and because of this, while at school, students must have a large exposure to books in the classroom, where they can be encouraged to fall in love with reading. The key factors of teaching reading are; choice in books selection, reading every day (including Read At Home books), hearing read alouds, modeling thinking and questioning, and regularly conferring with students. The Daily 5 and CAFÉ, along with regular guided reading groups allow the teacher to consistently assess each learner and differentiate according to the learner's needs. Finally, as the teacher guides each learner to find the types of books they will most enjoy, I believe it is extremely important to offer numerous multicultural texts that allow each student to uniquely find characters and themes that they can associate with or to challenge their understanding of the world.

There should be a balanced literacy approach between reading and writing. As the student learns to read, the student should also have plenty of opportunity to write and share their writing as well. Within writing, the 6-traits model as well as mentor texts are proven to enhance student writing and creativity.

Philosophy of math/science: Oftentimes, the largest gap between students' levels is seen in math. It is also a subject that students tend to experience the most anxiety in while learning its content. Personally struggling with math as I grew up, I find it of utmost importance to make learning math creative, challenging, enjoyable, and positive. It is one of my primary goals as a math educator to make each student fall in love with math as they realize how magnificent God created it. This positive association with math for students can be as simple as calling students "mathematicians" during math or introducing a favorite number of the week during math talk. In addition, students must be introduced to the beauty of making mistakes and learning from them, not only as a life skill, but as a key component of being a mathematician.

As in any other subject, continuous assessment, formative or summative, is necessary for students to self-evaluate what they need to work on, as well as allowing the teacher to plan for appropriate differentiated instruction. Math Daily 3, math workstations, and an abundance of visual and hands-on lessons are a few examples of research-based math practices.

It is important that the concepts of math must be taught before algorithms are introduced. Memorizing that 4-2=2 is meaningless if the student does not know that - means "take away". Number sense must be instilled within each student before further learning of content. In the same way, science should be filled with students asking meaningful questions, investigating, and problem solving. Instead of memorizing facts, students should be making sense of the things around them through disciplinary core ideas found in the Next Generation Science Standards. Opportunities to create through makers spaces can instill the love of science for students.

Overall, learning math and science should not only better the students' immediate life needs and future career requirements, but it should also allow each student to marvel at the brilliance of the Creator God, who made numbers, patterns, the planets, and bugs, and wants creation to praise him through studying math and science!