Center Grove

KIMBERLY ANDREWS

Center Grove Elementary School

2nd GRADE

 5 Years Teaching 

What teaching means to me...

Education has been an important part of my life for as long as I can remember. Growing up in a family of educators, I have always valued teaching as a career. When I became a teacher myself and began to establish my own classroom community, I started to see that being a teacher was not just about teaching standards, essential learnings, and curriculum. It goes without saying that effective instruction and best practices are vitally important to the academic successes of all students. I work hard to differentiate my teaching to accommodate different learning styles. I provide visual aids, kinesthetic learning activities, music, project based learning opportunities, and verbal instruction to ensure that I reach all learners. I provide hands on experiences for my students frequently, and I strive to connect all subject matter to their lives so they can see the importance and relevance of what they are learning. When my students become frustrated or discouraged, I use those frustrations to model proper conflict resolution so that they can learn how to overcome adversities in a positive way.

In addition to creating meaningful practices, I have also discovered that instilling love and a sense of value in a child positively affects his or her learning potential. I believe that when a child feels loved and valued, true learning can happen. Yes, teaching purposeful curriculum is important, because it is our responsibility as educators to prepare our children academically for their

future roles in our society. However, equally important is our responsibility as educators to prepare our children emotionally by loving and respecting them, therefore giving them a desire to come to school ready to learn each day. By being that kind of

teacher to my students, I hope to help them grow to be healthy, confident, and intelligent members of society. I want to be a teacher that impacts my students lives both now and in the future. Good teaching has the power to do that, and I aspire each and every day to be that kind of teacher.