Pre-Service Teacher
My Statement of Belief
One of the main purposes of education is to help learners grow and develop their identities to establish themselves as individuals as they enter the world outside the classroom. To achieve this, educators must be willing to continuously enhance and adapt their pedagogy, acknowledge the differences between learners and use it to enhance their lessons to be culturally relevant, and create an equitable and safe learning environment that fosters inclusivity. Having a changing pedagogy, being culturally relevant, and creating an inclusive classroom environment plays an integral role in the development of learner identity because they create a space for students to become reflective learners. This ensures that students use their prior experiences to connect with their current work to make text-to-text, text-to-self, and text-to-world connections while expanding their thinking.
According to the Nova Scotia Teaching Standard (NSTS) two, teachers must “know their subjects and how to teach them” (2018). This means that we must be responsive to the classroom environment, student responses, and educational research to part take in important “professional learning” that can keep our pedagogies relevant. Furthermore, the NSTS five also states that teachers must “participate in professional learning throughout their careers” (2018). Similar to standard 2, standard 5 also emphasizes the importance of keeping our pedagogies current and relevant to their students and the world around them. Education is always changing because of the new research, teaching strategies, and theories that suggest new methods of practice. Due to its changing nature, having a flexible pedagogy that uses the new research, strategies, and theories to enhance teaching practices ensures that students are receiving the best possible experience to nurture their learning and identity.
Grant Wiggins urges that students will not learn everything “by the time they leave school” and that as teachers, we must push students to keep questioning (1989). By getting into the habit of questioning, students will learn to be vigilant in seeking knowledge from different perspectives to become well versed in a topic. However, although seeking knowledge is important, Wiggins also emphasizes that students will never know everything there is to know in the world and that accepting this unavoidable “ignorance” is how students become lifelong learners (1989). I believe that teachers should also model this curiosity to explicitly show students how to ask questions, seek new perspectives, and be lifelong learners. By pursuing these new perspectives and being reflective, students will consistently be expanding their knowledge and making connections to other learnings.
As a first-year Bachelor of Education student, in my ideal responsive classroom, I want to build a democratic and collaborative classroom that focuses on the development of my students’ “autonomy”. Interpersonal relationships with my students will be the foundation of my classroom (Wragg 2001). Pedagogical practices that focus on collaboration, dialogue, peer relationships, and student-teacher relationships can strengthen the six essential competencies that are essential for graduation (Council of Atlantic Ministers of Education and Training, 2013). I believe that the growth of autonomy within students is important for identity development because it fosters self-reliance, resiliency, and independence. In the same light, collaborative classrooms that strengthen interpersonal relationships teach students the value of communication and teamwork while developing citizenship, communication, and personal-career development (Council of Atlantic Ministers of Education and Training 2013).
As an immigrant student that had a turbulent experience transition into a Canadian curriculum, I deeply value culturally relevant pedagogies (CRP) that go beyond helping students fit in. A CRP that unpacks the experiences and trauma, while acknowledging the difference between students just as important as educating them is essential for academic achievement, stronger peer relationships, and social-emotional success of all students (Ladson Billings 1995). The Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) program outcomes at Saint Francis Xavier University (2.4) state that pre-service teachers must have the ability to “make the curriculum culturally relevant”. By doing so, teachers can achieve B.Ed. Program Outcome 3.1, states that teachers will “create an equitable, diverse, and safe learning environment” for all students (2017). This kind of environment bridges a gap between students who are different from one another. I believe that teachers acknowledging this difference of skin colour, traditions, cultures, etc. between their students is one of their greatest assets. When teachers include different cultures, experiences, or traditions into their curriculum, they are also creating a space of understanding between students that may not know much about each other, prompting stronger peer relationships. Teachers also validate the experiences of each individual student when they represent the student in their lessons.
Education is more than teaching content to students. It is also about unpacking, identity building, building resiliency, shaping their growth mindsets, and more. I believe that an everchanging pedagogy that is rooted in a culturally relevant pedagogy and an inclusive classroom is essential for this kind of success of students as they enter the world outside of the classroom.