Elisa A. Farrell

As a teacher, my overall goal is to inspire my students to love learning. I believe this love of learning will grow into a lifelong pursuit.  Education should be a personal journey taken by each student towards being a critical thinking adult whom can contribute positively to society and their community.

 

I believe that all students can learn as long as they are given the chance to take risks in a safe place where they are allowed to make mistakes. In my experience, students work best when their teachers take the role of a guide for their students to help them on their journey to learning, rather than an all-knowing-teacher. An effective teacher should have the following qualities: patience, sense of humor, ability to learn from mistakes, and humility. Recognize that you are not always the expert; often teachers learn from students, parents and others.

 

Teachers owe their students dedication, respect, caring, understanding and a safe space for taking risks. I believe that students learn best when they are actively engaged, by posing questions, problems and scenarios, otherwise known as inquiry-based learning. When students have the chance to choose their own experiments to run, books to read and stories to write, they are more engaged and will put forth more effort into their product. The learning they do will be genuine and will lead to more questions, problems and scenarios.

 

In general, my goals for my students are for them to be self-sufficient, to enjoy learning, and to think critically. I want my students to realize their talents and to pursue them. I want them to be okay with making mistakes knowing they learn from them. My goal is for my students to be life-long learners.