Karla Hughes, Excellence in Beginning Teaching
 McCall Elementary School
Kindergarten Grade Teacher
Philosophy
of Teaching
Educational/Professional
Background
Philosophy of Teaching
My philosophy of teaching is simple; educators must always keep instruction
and actions child-centered. I feel the most important
part of teaching is the relationships we as educators build
with the children along with teaching each child
as an individual. Educators
must mold all instruction to fit the natural abilities
and interest of the
child and hold our standards high so that each child
can meet their fullest possible potential. We must keep our instruction
curriculum based and use our inner creativity to
add additional activities that
foster the development, diversity, and personalities
of the children in our class. I
also hold a passionate belief that "bad children
" do not exist; there are simply poor
choices and unfortunate circumstances.
To truly individualize instruction you must first know your students.
I keep in close contact with parents so that I am
aware of the various situations that my children come from. Parents
share information about their children ’s interests that I can use to make personal connections with my students and help customize instruction. I also attend numerous extra curricular events that my students are involved in to portray my care for them as an individual.
All children are created differently and therefore should be taught
as individuals. I teach children on an individual
basis and allow them to bring their own individuality
into the classroom so that they
can have a sense of ownership over their own learning
and academic success. Many personal hours are spent
throughout the week differentiating each child-centered learning station
in my class; each child completes
tasks according to their learning style and the level
of their abilities. Differentiation is a necessity in my classroom
to promote child success.
I strongly believe that behind each child's misbehavior there is
a reason.
I am a strong advocate of positive reinforcement
and of making children responsible for their own
actions. It is not enough just to stop
a behavior; we must go to the source and speak to
the child one-on-one and truly listen to what they
are feeling. We must be a team working together to form a positive
solution.
Teachers must help to shape students as individuals and take a personal
interest in each and every child, our future lies
in them. Deepak
Chopra stated, "There
is always one moment in childhood when the door opens
and lets the future in." It is my desire for that
moment to take place in my class
room.
Educational
/ Professional Background
Education and Training
- B.S. - University of North Texas
Work Experience
- Kindergarten Teacher - McCall Elementary
- Substitute Teacher - Plano ISD
- Student Teacher for First, Third and Fourth Grade - Plano ISD
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