Craig Kneifl

As a teacher I want to help the youth of our communities grow and flourish into happy, contributing members of our society. I want to empower them with self-determination or a freedom of choice in making their own decisions. How I plan to accomplish this is to be efficient with the time I have with them in the classroom. I will educate my students in learning practical skills that they can apply outside of the classroom. I will also foster their academic achievement by implementing fundamental concepts into their instruction that are necessary for progressing onwards for their education. To evaluate how well students are performing or making progress towards their annual goals I will use data based measures to monitor their learning. I believe all parents should be aware of how their children are progressing in school. I will send out progress reports as frequent as once every 6 weeks, but never as seldom as once a semester. I believe progress reports help teachers stay up to date and accountable on every students education. IDEA requires planning for transitional services beginning at age 16, but I believe students and their families should be aware of available post-graduate options starting in middle school. Emerging adolescents are capable of higher self-determination. Students with disabilities need to be supported in preparation for adulthood, but they have a right to choose or have a say in how they will live the rest of their lives. I believe my job is to assist students and their families based on their own unique needs to make life long dreams a reality. As a teacher I will continuously strive to incorporate questions that reflect Blooms taxonomy into my lessons to facilitate the higher levels of thinking for my students. I will have my teaching practices balance different types of instruction such as teacher lead discussions,

Craig Kneifl

guided problem solving, demonstrations, and lecture. Personally, I prefer the idea of practicing demonstrations followed by guided problem solving. I believe it is essential for good teachers to stay up to date in the field of education. To ensure that I do, I will refer to scholarly journals; attend conferences, and value in-services that describe current best practices. I will also regularly refer to resources provided by my school administrators and the Nebraska State Board of Education. I want to be a teacher because I am a person who has enthusiasm for helping others, particularly youth. I believe a proper education can have an invaluable impact on the lives of individuals. I specifically want to be a Special education teacher because I have a passion for helping individuals with disabilities. To me, theyre in most need of our societys support and I want to be a prominent figure in their support system.