My philosophy of education provides a framework of what should be taught in the school

system and how the content should be delivered. I believe my students at school perform best
when shown daily objectives, are offered rigorous and relevant subjects that are taught with the
student understanding how the class relates to the real world.
I believe certain areas and goals are important to be included in my own philosophy of Career
and Technical Education. There is a need to increase the percentage of students to be prepared
for college, a career and citizenship. I encourage my students to use technology in researching
topics and completing projects and continue with myself to take courses that will improve my
methods of presenting meaningful material beneficial for students. I feel that the education and
encouragement of students in my CTE classes to be very important with my part to help them
find their talent that would fulfill an area workforce need that would be well for that student to
do well and stay in our community.
I want to provide for my students a secure, caring environment where the student would be
able to help in the construction of the knowledge to be learned, where they may practice skills in
authentic situations, to be able to study topics that are meaningful and relevant to ones life and
interest that would provide an opportunity for the student to be self-motivated to work.
I have a philosophy of education that correlates to the Waterloo School District in which I am
employed. This philosophy centers and changes according to the environment and students I
work with. The Waterloo School community commits to a comprehensive system of education
and support to assure that each and every student will graduate prepared for college, career and
citizenship as evidenced by continuing education, pursuing a career path and contributing to a
community.

This philosophy is carried out in my school, the Expo Alternative High School, in a small
setting confined to one level. I carry the responsibility of delivering curriculum, handling
minor/major student behavior issues, daily communication with a given set of students,
understanding the importance of attending daily before and after school staff meetings to discuss
student academic, behavior and attendance issues, along with parent and guardian contacts. I
meet daily with my assigned group of students to develop a rapport of trust, support and line of
communication. The students at our school are here mainly because of behavior and attendance
issues.
The students I have the opportunity to work with need to understand the importance of having
respect for self-first. Students that I work with may or may not live with a birth parent, may be
living with someone other than a family member, be in a temporary living situation or perhaps
on the street. In some cases these young people do not have a bed, they sleep on the floor. I
want my students to be able to understand the benefits of lifelong learning and strive to be a good
classroom citizen that progresses to becoming a well-rounded community citizen. Family
Consumer Science classes that I teach bring basic beliefs about nature, mankind and everyday
life skills that will be beneficial to students on their path in this life.
The most beneficial part of the school day is at the end when I take time to reflect how the
day went for my students. This is a practice I started when I had the opportunity to teach. It
provides to me the time to reflect on the positives and not so positive parts of the school day and
how to change the direction be a better teacher for my students.