My Empathetic Values and Future Learning Goals

Andrew Hagadorn

10/14/2019

When I think about my current practices in the classroom I believe my style

of teaching is intertwined with my values and beliefs. I believe it is important for

teachers to promote equality, to create a safe environment for learning, and to

connect with students outside of the classroom. It is also important that we work to

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provide this type of environment in a caring and supporting way to everyone

involved in the students learning process. I believe that when everyone on a team is

on the same page then there is no way they will not succeed.

As a sociologist I love to promote equality in the classroom. I think one of the

strongest and most important parts of learning is having a diversified class. When

students are given opportunities to talk about their culture, and things they value in

their lives, it not only gives the student the opportunity to feel a sense of pride, but

also to share their knowledge with others. I believe that students love to share

personal experiences when they are in the right environment. I think one thing that

I do is I constantly work to try to break down socially constructed barriers. I try to

get students to understand what a patriarchal society is and how it affects their

lives, and I always praise the inclusion and culture into different learning situations.

I believe that when students feel safe and supported they will open up and

share experiences or perspectives. I also believe that when students do this they

allow others to learn through their stories, and a more effective learning

environment takes place. Of course none of this happens if the students

conversations are not facilitated effectively. I know that we have a lot of students in

our classrooms, but we must work to make sure that our students comments are

protected and supported. Too many times students make rude and hurtful

comments and it is just quickly brushed off. I am not sure what the correct course of

action to take is, but I have currently stopped the class to make sure that everyone

understands that any negative comments that are hurtful are not funny and will not

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be tolerated in any sort of way. I have noticed that many of my students feel more

willing to share since I have changed the culture of my classroom.

The final value that I feel impacts my teaching is how I connect with the

students. I feel as though it is vital that I spend time with my second and third

graders outside of the classroom. They go to P.E. with a different teacher, so the only

time I am typically with them is when I am teaching in the class. In order to break up

this pattern, I like to go out during lunch and get involved in different games and

areas on the playground. I make sure to play games like foursquare and handball,

but I also make sure to stop by the computer lab and the playground. I feel like this

way I get to interact with the students in a fun and playful environment and it

breaks down the barrier of the normal student to teacher relationship. I have found

that I have deeper connections with the students, and have been much more

influential in their lives. I also have more impact on their behaviors, as other

teachers have asked what I do to get certain students to listen to me when they cant.

I attribute all of it to my work with students outside of the classroom.

One way that I work to show care and support to all students and all families

is through my patience with their situations. I know that many parents struggle to

deal with the daily pressures of life, and that sometimes we ask a lot of them. I want

to try to be in contact with either the families as much as possible, but if I can’t then

I will get updates from someone who can. I know sometimes using different

resources to get through to different families is a better rout to take, but the

important part is just making sure that we are in contact and understand their

situations as best as possible. I plan to be extremely flexible with my students to

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make sure that their needs are met, and that I am not asking too much of their

family and possibly put them in a situation to not succeed.

That leads me to the next thing that I will do to be able to show how I care for

my families. I will be dedicated to knowing what types of resources are available

both within the community and the district. That way I can help the students and

their families in whatever way possible. Not only will I offer them the resources, but

I will also offer support in establishing contact and connection with the different

options. In the past, when I was working in afterschool programs, I have helped to

facilitate conversations between students and teachers in classes they were

struggling. I noticed that all the students needed was a little support, and everything

worked out. They just didn’t know how to start the conversation, what to say, or

what possibilities they even had. Once they got the support they needed everything

fell into place.

Two professional learning goals that I have are that I want to have a better

understanding of how to tell what students need to succeed. I also want to come up

with solid plans of actions of how to deal with different types of students. I know

that there are different types of learners, but I need ideas of how to differentiate my

lesson plans so that I can allow for my students to learn in ways that best suit their

needs and abilities. I know that through my work in the program I will gain the tools

necessary to be effective in the classroom.

In conclusion I believe it is extremely important for our classrooms to be

equal for all, to be safe and supportive, and that we connect with our students

outside of the class as well. I think when we are able to see our students in different

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 lights we see their different strengths, we see their different abilities, and we

connect with them on a deeper level. I think in order for us to be empathetic to our

students we need to fully understand who they are, where they come from, what

they can do, and what they believe they can do. Once we get to truly know them we

can help to push them to new heights and maybe get them to believe in themselves

more and succeed more because of it.

Works Cited

1. Code of Ethics:
Association of American Educators. (2018). Code of Ethics for Educators. Retrieved
from https://www.aaeteachers.org/index.php/about-us/aae-code-of-ethics.

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2. California Teaching Performance Expectations:
Commission on Teacher Credentialing. (2016). California Teaching Performance
Expectations. Retrieved from https://www.ctc.ca.gov/docs/default-
source/educator-prep/standards/adopted-tpes-2016.pdf?sfvrsn=8cb2c410_0.