The thing that inspires me as a teacher is helping students develop independence, to learn to solve their own problems and develop and appreciate their own abilities. In order to continue to develop my curriculum skills, assessment, and understanding of children’s thinking and learning I plan to always pursue my own opportunities to learn and study curriculum, assessment, and children’s thinking/learning; I want to participate in workshops and professional development that broaden my horizons in those regards.

The values I want to guide children’s experiences in my program include compassion (because we don’t all learn at the same pace, and just because someone is slower to pick up a concept doesn’t mean they’re stupid or slow); not being afraid to make mistakes (because we all make them, and it’s how we learn); courage, especially for taking risks (like Billie’s case study about playing the guitar); and encouragement/support (helping each other learn and giving support is how we all get along). In viewing the leadership opportunities on pages 209-210, the one that catches my attention and that I would like to participate in is the World Forum Working Groups. Apart from being a significant source of perspective on the challenges faced in other countries and how they compare to our own, I believe this would be a great way of identifying and sharing solutions and incorporating global points of view which, in our increasing global society, are invaluable.

These groups would also offer many opportunities for collaboration which is very important to me. I think it’s important to collaborate with other teachers for the same reason I find the World Forum Working Groups attractive: perspective and other points of view. Everybody brings something meaningful and useful and different to the table, and being able to tap into those resources gives teachers real support. They also offer us opportunities to give constructive criticism, feedback, and support to our colleagues, and that is very useful and important to me.