LEARNING MANIFESTO

I’ve had the opportunity to shape the young minds that have entered my classroom for over six years, understanding that each student has so much potential. I don’t take my role as an educator lightly. It is my belief that an educator’s job is not only to teach the students but to reach the students. Reaching students and taking time to connect learning to them and their interests helps them to take ownership of their learning and inspires them to be as creative as they can be to become problem solvers. It also helps students to take advantage of every aspect of learning. When a student takes ownership and accountability for their own learning, the learning doesn’t seem like a chore. The learning is transformed into an opportunity for that student to relate learning to real world experiences and allows them to come up with a solution that is valuable to them. No matter what obstacles a student may have and no matter what a child may be going through outside of school, all students are capable of learning and are deserving of a quality education. All students can succeed if an educator cares enough to believe in them, pushes them, and is passionate about the content and the students.

As an educator, I am passionate about helping my students to reach their highest potential in my class and in life. I live for the “ah ha” moment students have when they master content that once confused them. That moment when the light bulb turns on and begins to shine bright gives great joy and often reminds me why I got into education in the first place. I love to help a student learn to keep going and never to give up on themselves, their learning, and their dreams. It is my passion to be my students biggest advocate and let them know that they can learn, no matter what accommodations they may have. As someone who struggled to learn in the past, it brings me great joy to teach lessons in creative and engaging ways so students can understand the content and apply it to their everyday lives. Also, having taught students who have graduated and gone on to college, it fills my heart when one of those students comes back and lets me know of everything they’ve achieved since being in Ms. Green’s 6th grade health class. I teach because I love to see the growth in students over the years. 

A big problem with digital learning is that some educators are intimidated by it and don’t take the time to understand it or its benefits. Some educators choose to stick to traditional ways of learning because that is what has worked for them over the years and it is a place of comfort for them. I have been guilty of being intimidated by digital learning and leaning more towards traditional learning myself. A problem that I faced while teaching virtually was some students weren’t disciplined enough to be able to handle the control it came with. Some students needed to be in class so they could stay on task and have a teacher to guide them through the content. Some of the students weren’t technology savvy and got frustrated with using the learning management systems and used that as an excuse not to turn in their work. I think one of the main issues at state, regional, and national levels is getting that buy in from school districts because of some of the challenges digital learning presents. 

One thing that I don’t agree with is teaching students just to prepare them to take a test. I think that this type of teaching only leads students to memorize the content and doesn’t really teach them how to apply what they are learning to real world situations. Students need to be getting the content in ways that makes it easy for them to relate content to their everyday lives and helps them to come up with solutions to everyday problems. Another problem is that educators don’t have a lot of time to reteach content that students may need more time on because standardized testing has educators on a tight teaching schedule. A fix to those problems would be to remove standardized testing and replace it with other kinds of assessments. I think that standardized testing puts a lot of pressure on students who may not be good test takers and this may cause frustration and insecurities. I think that the grading system can sometimes cause students to doubt their abilities and give up on learning and their own potential. When a student receives a failing grade after working really hard in a class, it may make them stop giving the desired effort because their confidence may decrease. I think that rethinking the way that we use the grading scale could be helpful. There needs to be a way to relay the message that a student hasn’t mastered something but acknowledge the progress that has been made.

My core belief about digital learning is that it can really be an asset to all who use it if they are really trying to learn. Digital learning not only gives users control over when they take advantage of it, but also gives them a wide variety of choices which allows them to use their own voices to enhance and take ownership of their learning. Digital learning makes it very easy for content to be differentiated and it also gives the users access to a wide variety of supplemental resources that can make learning come alive for students of all ages. The impact that I hope to make in my organization, through my blended learning wellness initiative, is to give parents, as well as students, faculty, and staff the tools to live healthier lifestyles and build a healthier community and school district through teaching them about lifestyle changes that could change their health for the better. By making physical, mental, and social health a priority for all through my blended online wellness initiative, I hope to see higher grades, less absences, less behavioral issues, and more mental health awareness and help for all who take advantage of this program. The biggest impact that this initiative could have is lowering the number of people with preventable diseases due to education and awareness.

One of my prior accomplishments is being able to work closely with the different campus wellness committees in my district. It is always nice to see mental, physical, and social health be an area of focus for students, faculty, and staff. Also, teaching students to deal with mental health issues in a positive way and reducing the stigma surrounding getting help has been something that I am very proud of. Reducing that stigma can save lives and help students to deal with situations that might not be favorable.It is important for students to learn about and take control of their health at a young age. This is one reason why I left my job being a community health educator and decided to become a certified teacher. The sooner people learn about health and break bad health habits, the healthier their world will be.

Education is my life’s passion. I can honestly say that after all these years as a teacher. After my passion to build a healthier community led me to go into the school system to be a health advocate, I couldn’t see myself doing anything else. I teach to inspire and to help my students to grow. I teach to advocate for all areas of health and wellness which could be a positive catalyst for change for many. I teach because so many students need a teacher to reveal to them how great they can be if they keep trying and putting forth effort. Lastly, I teach because I love it.