Katy Sparks

A teacher’s personal philosophy of education is a critical element in his or her approach to guiding children along the path of enlightenment.  Barbara Wilt

My philosophy…

I fervently believe that all my students are capable of learning, experiencing success, and making significant contributions in the classroom. My goal for my students is that they will realize that a changing world needs people that can question and analyze, people who will understand that education never ends, and will use history as a blueprint of human trials to build a better tomorrow.

In developing a classroom environment that is conducive to student success, a teacher must have flexibility, interaction, reaction, and encouragement.  Flexibility to adjust to the student strengths and diversities, interaction on a personal level that shows you care about each student, reaction in a positive light to build success, and encouragement for each student regardless of their level of learning.

I believe in changing my approach with each student to give the right amount of support, praise, or push that they need.  I will allow for open class discussions about the last evening’s events or the daily news coverage, which will hopefully lead to lively conversation and valuable insight into the feelings, opinions and culture of my students.

I believe the reason most of the students fail is not found in the difficulty of the material but the method that material was delivered. Therefore, I believe in adjusting my delivery and expectations to meet the need of each class and each student.