My Educational Gurus!

Welcome back!

Ever since I was in elementary school I have had the dream to become a teacher to inspire, encourage, and teach my students to the best of their abilities like my teachers did with me. The first person that inspired me to become a teacher was my fourth grade teacher. My fourth grade teacher was incredible and made every lesson interesting to her students. She kept us engaged, increased our collaboration and made us all genuinly enjoy coming and participating in school.

Once I began college, I began learning a lot about educational theorist and pedagogies. The main one that I connect to is Lev Vygotsky and his theory about Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). This theory speaks to me because I feel it is vital to have all of the students in a classroom in a zone that they are learning and being pushed. This theory states how students should be in a zone that they can complete activities and learn with only “some” assistance. This theory also supports my views on the importance of differentiation and adjusting activities on an individual basis in order for every student to be pushed to their highest ability.

With this theory I also think that the ZPD is where many students have “lightbulbs” go off. One of the things that I love about teaching is when a student can finally understand a new concept and you as a teacher can witness the joy your student gets from learning.

When thinking about people who speak the truth to me, I trust that my professors, my co-op teachers and the theorist I study can help me grow and learn the best. I listen to the many different ideas I have learned and seen, and have an idea of what I want my future classroom to look like. I also understand that with time comes changes and although I have ideas on how to teach and the kind of teacher I want to be now, in the future I want to grow and constantly learn new and improved ways to learn and teach.

Overall, there have been many people, theories, observations, and ideas that have influenced my reasons for wanting to teach. I have a passion for studying these ideas because it is essential to learn different plans and ways to teach in order to become the best teacher possible for my future students.