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Running Head: STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS

Statement of Informed Beliefs Essay

Amy Stratton
Belma Sadikovic M. Ed.
EDUC 204 Families, Communities, & Culture
Fall 2014

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Statement of Informed Beliefs Essay

Many people grow up wanting to work in a fancy office on top of some tall building in
the heart of a big city and make millions each year. Those people turn into CEOs of top dollar
companies in the United States, many of which billions of people look up to and respect. Take
those same CEOs and put them in a first grade classroom for a day and I bet many of them
would fail. I could have went to school for anything, I could have become one of those fancy
CEOs or a lawyer. Instead, I choose to become a teacher and prepare the future for our leaders
of the world. Almost anyone can do a fancy job. It takes an amazing person with a huge heart to
become a teacher. This essay will provide all the insight to my beliefs and values that I will hold
on to tightly as I partake in changing our society and future generations.
All Students Can Learn
I have been involved in childcare for over 10 years. In those years, I have learned that all
children possess the ability and desire to want to learn. Regardless of their environment or the
social economic class their family falls into, all children have a need to be taught. Educating a
child starts at a very young age, and typically with their parents. Educators, play just as an
important role in teaching as parents do. I feel, as a teacher, it is our responsibility to encourage
and lead a childs heart and mind down the path of education.
Teaching a child is often easier said than done. Children learn at different paces, and this
can be challenging for a teacher of a large class. It is the teachers responsibility, however, to
make sure that all children in the class succeed. Lesson plans need to be made and taught so that
all children will benefit from them. I am a firm believer that all children deserve a devoted
teacher, even those who may struggle to keep up. Sometimes, children will need an individual

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education plan, and it is the teachers responsibility to provide one. It is no different than the
fact that some children will need a greater challenge than the one provided; it is also the teachers
responsibility to provide an education on a higher level. The plan and simple fact is teachers
must be flexible and willing to accept that fact that one plan may not work for all and I will be
that teacher.
Choosing to become a teacher was not an easy decision for me to make. I know all the
extra hard work and late nights without additional compensation that will go into making sure
every child succeeds. However, that is just what I intend to do. I will make every effort to ensure
each child succeeds in my class. I will lead the classroom in a way that includes all children in
the learning process. I feel that the greatest way I will accomplish this is by remembering that
my lessons must be flexible. They might fail or not go quite as planned, but behind every lesson
good or bad is an opportunity for teaching and learning.
Children learn in many different ways. Some are visual, some are hands on learners. I am
going to strive to include each learning style in my lesson plans so that I can grab the attention
of all the students. I feel children learn best when they are having fun and that is just what I
intend to do. I will provide a structured classroom where the learning in on task but fun and
engaging. Every child deserves to have a classroom where the teacher truly cares about them and
harbors a safe environment in which learning is constructive and free from distractions. Children
should feel confident in engaging with others in conversation and group learning; I will really
encourage friendship and kindness to provide a nurturing classroom.
Teacher Expectations

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Often, many teachers form expectations for student performance. I truly couldnt
imagine a teacher student relationship without expectations. As teachers, we should all want our
students to perform to the best of their ability, providing expectations not only for the students,
but also for ourselves, leads to academic excellence and successful students.
Expectations should cover everything students do within the classroom/learning
environment from academics to behavior. I feel like when you set high expectations for
childrens behavior, you create a positive learning environment with fewer distractions. I dont
personally feel high academic standards can be meet in a chaotic environment where students
dont work together respectfully.
Teacher expectations range from how and when a child is to sharpen their pencil, to how
to specifically write a paper. Regardless of what the expectation is, students must understand
them, what they mean, and how to accomplish them. I feel like when teachers just expect
students to understand and know what is expected of them without proper explanation, they set
students up for failure. Communication and explanation is imperative when establishing
successful expectations.
In my opinion, teacher expectations start and end with the teachers belief in every
student to learn, grow and excel. Students need to believe that their teacher believes in them and
thinks they can accomplish things that may be harder than they might think they can do. Thats
not something a teacher can fake, I believe a teachers attitude, behavior, comments and
enthusiasm for learning teach students that expectations are not just a written statement on a
wall, but that the teacher desires them as well.

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Teachers, who have goals and expectations for their students, will succeed over teachers
who dont, hands down. I also feel teachers need to have just as many expectations for their own
teaching skills. Teachers should believe and have a goal that all students can succeed; teachers
should reflect on their own lesson plans and make adjustments as needed to benefit the students.
It is the teachers job to advocate and assist students in reaching goals and expectations at
whatever costs or resources needed.
Many people dont go into teaching for the economic fortune. Lets face it; teachers
dont make what they deserve. Most teachers, however, have a passion to make a difference in a
childs life. Most teachers want to make the world a brighter, smarter place, and we accomplish
that by impacting childrens lives. To go into teaching without a goal or expectation of success is
like walking into a burning building without protection. Nothing good will come out of low
expectations. Successful students are made because a teacher believed in them enough to set high
expectations.
Students Social Ecology Theory
Our textbook defines that human ecology involves the biological, psychological,
social and cultural contexts in which a developing person interacts and the consequent processes
like perception, learning and behaving develop over time. Many relationships with significant
others such as families, teachers, peers and the community have a large impact on students lives.
Families provided nurturing, affection and many other experiences that provide for
socialization and growth. Families influence a childs education greatly. One of the best
examples I can think of as far as influencing your childs education is to participate in their

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learning process. I sit down daily and together, my children and I do homework and discuss what
they did and learned at school that day. I also volunteer in their classrooms and have my kids
participate in many school activities. My children know that education is very important to me
and therefore it is important to them. I would imagine families that put no emphasis into
education or helping their children learn have children who strongly dislike school and the
learning process. Children typically follow their families lead, what a family finds to be of
importance typically will also be important to the child. It is my opinion, that family plays the
greatest role in encouraging a child to find importance in education.
Cultural Diversity Instruction
School is typically the place where diverse cultures come together to learn on common
grounds. Students, parents, teachers and administrators all contribute to the beliefs, perceptions
and relationships that influence every aspect of how a school functions. It is important to teach
acceptance of all cultures, religions, and traditions and not to discriminate or hate against. I feel
teachers play a large role in teaching this by accepting students from diverse cultures and treating
them equally. If some cultures dont place a large amount of respect on education as other
cultures do, it is then up to the teacher to demonstrate the importance of education, while still
respecting the childs culture.
Communities impact schools on many different levels. Communities provide resources
for school, and schools use tax money to fund school services. Schools located in a higher end
neighborhood might have more resources available to students than a school located in a lower
economic community. Communities also vary on the policies that influence the school.
Unequivocally, policies effect students and their learning. Businesses, located in a community

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also offer financial support, equipment, field trips and more. Smaller communities without large
businesses can lack community support.
The growing diversity in the United States in undeniable. Many children from preschool
to high school are of different race, impoverished, or from nontraditional homes. Successful
teachers recognize this diversity and accept that the world is changing and the only way to keep
up with it is to accept and respect each others differences, including our students.
As a teacher, I will be understanding and sensitive to the cultural identities of my students. I
will strive to improve the relationships between my students so that they will accept each other
regardless of race or culture. I will also encourage my students to be proud of whom they are as
individuals. I feel it is important for students to understand that associating with members of
ones own group is not an insult to other groups or vice versa. I will build upon and be accepting
of all the strengths of the ethnic and cultural groups in my class. As a teacher, I will also have a
zero tolerance policy for anyone who chooses to ridicule the other students who have cultural
differences and I will strictly enforce that policy.
Curriculum for all Learners
When you spend years working with children, and then four to five more years educating
yourself to become a perfect teacher, you hope and pray you will just do things impeccably and
have the knowledge to teach every lesson skillfully. Then reality hits you in the face and you
realize anytime you willingly make the choice to work with children, you are choosing to work
in an unpredictable environment, where the children call the shots the majority of the time. An

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excellent teacher accepts this daily task, and realizes sometimes plans will not go as prepared. It
doesnt mean we have failed, it simply means we allowed our children to challenge us.
I will rise to this challenge daily, and I will make needed adjustments it my lesson plans
and delivery to best benefit of my students. If I am right in the middle of a lesson that isnt
working, I will not be discouraged by it. I will just simply improvise and keep trying until I have
accomplished what I originally planned to do. I understand, that many times, I will need to assess
my lesson plans and evaluate if the students truly learned and understood what I was trying to
teach. I think the key to great teaching is the ability to be honest and accept that change is good,
and probably will happendaily.
It is so important for students to improve during the year they spend with their teacher. I
will evaluate every child upon entering my classroom, so from the beginning I know the childs
strengths and weaknesses. I will continue to reevaluate these children throughout the year to test
for improvement. Im hoping to be able to depend on teacher assistants, volunteers and student
teachers to help me work one on one with children to improve in areas in which they lack the
understanding of. I will also work hard to involve a childs family through effective
communication. I am a firm believer that children learn better when they also have support from
home.
As a future teacher, I know and willingly accept that my day wont be about me.
However, it will be about putting my heart into everything I do so that every child succeeds
under my wing. Albert Einstein once said It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in
creative expression and knowledge. I cant wait to awaken my students.

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Reference
Berns, R.M. (2013). Child, Family, School, Community: Socialization and Support. (9th ed.).
Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.