I believe that education is a fundamental tool in society because it is a major institution informing future citizens.

Its purpose for adolescents should be to inform and prepare for active citizenship in an ever-changing society. Students should gain the tools and knowledge to be successful life-long learners through critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity. These purposes should always be informing teachers and their curriculum for the classroom. Classroom instruction, assessment, and management should foster the idea that critical thinking, collaboration and creativity are highly valued. Instruction should depend on students practicing these values, assessment should require these values displayed, and these values should inform management. In the classroom a teacher should play the role of guide and facilitator, acting as not simply a source of easy information but a source of direction. The teacher creates the framework from which the students are able to investigate and formulate their own ideas about the world. The students role should revolve around creating knowledge from the guided investigations provided by the teacher. Students should be asked to think and analyze the world around them in order to create a clear and accurate image. Students learn most effectively when they synthesize knowledge for themselves. Given the time and conditions, students are able to construct their own knowledge through analyzing the world around them. When they are actively constructing knowledge students are motivated to learn and have a deeper understanding. Solving problems set up by the teacher motivates students to learn because they develop an interest and curiosity for their own education. Memorization should play a very limited role in the classroom because it is boring and tedious for students and teachers. The memorization of facts does not inspire motivation and curiosity like hands-on activities and critical thinking. Collaborative learning, on the other hand, should play a large role in the classroom because it is very beneficial for students learning. They are able to scaffold concepts for each other through discussion and debate, as well as test their own knowledge by having to explain concepts. One instructional strategy that reflects my beliefs in the science classroom is to have the students construct their own laboratory experiments. If I, as the teacher, always develop the steps in the process of the experiments for them they will not understand why we do each step. It would be very beneficial for the students to develop their own written instructions for a science lab to be completed. The classroom should always serve the needs of its students above anything else. Teachers must design lessons that address students diverse needs, challenge students to think more meaningfully, and require that students aim for high expectations. It is the teachers job to create an environment where students achieve all these goals while feeling known and valued. This will shape productive and informed future citizens of the world.