Goodwin

Kelsey Goodwin
Dr. Pate
October 11, 2015
VISION STATEMENT
The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher
demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.- William Arthur Ward. Becoming a teacher is a
challenging goal and vision that I have. Teaching is not for the impatient or careless
person, but for the adult who has a passion for teaching and learning. My vision for
teaching means having certain qualities, to work hard, to lead students, and to have a safe
place for students to go.
Being a teacher means being a leader for students that will soon hold the future in
all aspects. Becoming a teacher means becoming a leader in life, school, and learning.
When I begin sharing my passion for teaching I plan on sharing my passion for
leadership and young adults also. In Freedom Writers, a student said, She told me she
believed in me. I have never heard those words from anyone Especially a teacher
(Gruwell, 1999, 46). Being a teacher means being a cheerleader in every single students
corner. Some students do not have safe places to go when they leave school for the day
and students may see the classroom as a safe place, so as a teacher I want to provide that
to my students. The educator shall be of good moral character and be worthy to instruct
or supervise the youth of this state (Texas Administrative Code, 1). As a teacher I will
instruct students to the best of my ability and make sure I give students my one hundred
percent every day that I walk into my classroom.

Goodwin

Essential qualities of a teacher in the American classroom today are things such as
patience, leadership, positivity, and flexibility. Teachers that I grew up idolizing jumped
through hoops for students to succeed to see them succeed. I have seen many teachers
today that do not try to see students achieve, but instead let simple worksheet grades
define their students. True teachers need to have motivating attitudes to have a classroom
full of successful students that want to learn and achieve. When I get a whole new
classroom full of students I will try to teach them multiple things. One of the main things
I want to try to teach my students is that no matter where you go when you leave school
each day, or where you came from before school does not define who you are and how
far an education can take you. In my classroom I will reach out to every student and help
students achieve in areas that they need assistance with. As a teacher I will constantly
strive to have a positive classroom because students will always learn more when they are
thinking positively rather than thinking negatively. If a student is struggling to have
positive thoughts and emotions they may not be able to remember lessons taught that day
because Jensen says that positive emotions also get priority for memory (Jensen, 2005,
57). When students come into my class I will do my best to make sure students have
positive thoughts and try to get positive feedback from students about what is going on in
my classroom.
Without a vision teachers will crumble. My vision for teaching is to always try to
work harder than I did the day before, and to show students how to have a passion for
something. As a teacher I will always strive to be flexible in the classroom when it is
needed. In the Learner-Centered Schools for Texas A Vision of Texas Educators in the
section titled Learner- Centered Instruction, the teacher is a critical thinker and

Goodwin

problem solver who plays a variety of roles when teaching (Learner-Centered Schools
For Texas A Vision Of Texas Educators, 1997, 2). This statement describes my goal for
my future in the classroom because I want to be a problem solver and do whatever I need
to do to see my students succeed.
Becoming a teacher means becoming leader and a positive example to my
students. Students need to know that they will succeed in different aspects of life at
different times and I will strive to remind them of that. No one is motivated to contuinue
a task if they do not obtain, or at least think it is possible to obtain, success (Kagan,
1994, 4.15). My vision is to teach students success will come, to show them that hard
work will pay off, and I will be flexible to see my students achieve their goals.

Goodwin

A quote by William Arthur Ward. (n.d.). Retrieved October 7, 2015, from

http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/166029-the-mediocre-teacher-tells-the-good-teacher-explainsthe-superior
Gruwell, E. (1999). The Freedom Writers diary: How a teacher and 150 teens used writing to
change themselves and the world around them. New York: Doubleday.
Kagan, S. (1994). Cooperative learning. San Juan Capistrano, CA: Kagan Cooperative Learning.
Jensen, E. (2005). Teaching with the brain in mind (2nd ed.). Alexandria, Va.: Association for
Supervision and Curriculum Development.
SBEC publication, Learner-Centered Schools for Texas, A Vision of Texas Educators, July 1997.
Texas Administrative Code. (n.d.). Retrieved October 7, 2015.