Vision and Values
Statement
As an educator I am in the business of teaching and learning. I facilitate the learning of others. I believe
that teaching and learning are dynamic, interactive, life-long processes based on empowering interactions among learners. Often, as a teacher, I find
out new things about myself and those new experiences enable me to be a better teacher, therefore placing me in the position
of being a learner too. My role, as an educator, is to prepare students to be effective leaders, advocates, and life-long
learners.
My organization,
the public educational system, is undergoing many changes regarding its role in society, in terms of the reason these institutions
of secondary learning exist. I feel the public school system exists to meet the
educational needs of all students. Its role within the community is to provide
students with the skills and knowledge to meet challenges of a changing world and prepare students socially, emotionally,
and academically for future endeavors.
My vision is to
create an organization that is open and accessible to all students. When discussing accessibility, I recognize that a public school is open to all students;
however the access to knowledge is limited to only a few individuals. I would
like to work on meeting the needs and providing for the success of all students.
This will require that all students have access to knowledge, this process begins by acknowledging and identifying
marginalized students. Once this is accomplished we as an organization need to make a concerted effort to reach out to those
students through the implementation of specialized programs to support those students, so that no students are left behind. Furthermore, it is essential that we equip these students with a voice, a voice that
enables them to state their needs, desires, concerns, and beliefs.
Additionally we
need to create an organization where everyone, both faculty and students, are valued and that value is visibly demonstrated. An organization wherein varied experiences are desired and individual differences
are acknowledged and embraced. These individual differences should be recognized as valued contributors to our community.
Faculty will become excellent teachers, principled professionals, empathetic and well prepared advisors, outstanding
scholars, and actively engaged in professional service
The role I want
my organization to play in my community is as a vehicle for student success and teacher satisfaction. The organization should be a facilitator of knowledge and producers of outstanding minds.
The characteristics
I value are strength, understanding, hard work, devotion, perseverance, independence, creativity, curiosity, individuality,
courage and forgiveness. These are values that I would seek and foster in faculty
members. These are the values which I would like to instill in my students. These are the values which should be demonstrated and supported by our school community.
My areas of
interest are the investigation of equitable educational opportunities for a diverse student body, the issues of poverty and
its impact on social mobility and the pursuit of postsecondary education, the system of socioeconomic stratification within
elementary and secondary education and it’s reiteration within society, and the failure of educational structures to
assist in leveling the social class structure of America.
