I Believe in the Potential of Children

I Believe in the Potential of Children

“Anybody, any kid can learn if he or she has the desire to do it… The teacher plays an important role in education—we all remember the first teacher who really touched our lives, or gave us some encouragement, or at least appreciated our best. The teacher gives us the desire to learn, the desire to be Somebody…The teacher has to have the energy of the hottest volcano, the memory of an elephant, and the diplomacy of an ambassador…Really, a teacher has to possess love and knowledge and then has to use this combined passion to be able to accomplish something.” --Bob Alante, teacher

Concerning the nature of students, I agree with the Sophist point of view—although all children are not born with the same level of intelligence, all children have the capacity to learn. I do not think that children are born entirely good or entirely bad. A child is influenced by his environment, and models his behavior to match the people closest to him. Knowledge is relative, and the level of success a child achieves in school is directly related to the amount of support and encouragement he receives at home.

Public education serves a variety of different functions. Most importantly, education helps to shape children into competent, self-sufficient adults. Schools reflect and promote society’s values. Important social skills needed in the work force and everyday life are learned at school, such as sharing, compromise, and the importance of teamwork.

As a teacher, I want to encourage and help children to reach their full potential. I want my students to realize that they are all different, and understand that diversity is a good thing. I believe that there are different types of intelligence, and creativity is just as important as logic.

Teachers’ behavior should reflect values such as tolerance, compassion, forgiveness, and open-mindedness. Effective communication skills are needed to encourage students to share their concerns. Teachers should not try to persuade students with their personal points of view, nor should they shy away from showing students that they have strong beliefs. An ideal classroom environment is one that allows students to feel free to express individual beliefs. I will try to exemplify these ethics by using a variety of teaching methods, alternating between visual, kinesthetic and audio instructional approaches in an attempt to reach all students.