Standard Nine | Professionalism, Leadership, and Advocacy
The competent teacher is an ethical and reflective practitioner who exhibits professionalism; provides leadership in the learning community; and advocates for students, parents or guardians, and the profession.
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Artifact I
Dear Parents,
My name is Miss Durst and I will be teaching your children this year in my Social Studies class. I am very excited at the prospect of having new students and I wanted to explain what we will be doing this year in our class and what my intentions are for my classroom.
First, I think it is important to let you know that my students are my first priority. I am always available to help my students with whatever they may need. My students are very important to me and I will do my best to do all that I can to help my students academically and with whatever other situation that arises.
In my classroom, I value the personality, diversity and creativity. I encourage critical thinking and include history to help students learn about the perspectives of others and I want to help them practice thinking skills that will help them learn about topics today and these thinking skills will help them with future problem solving and aid them in making educated decisions later in life.
Your child is in my United States history class, where we will be covering ancient American civilizations through the present, as time permits. We will be looking at primary sources, secondary sources and analyzing these sources so students can better understand the history of our nation. Students will do writing assignments that will help them see the perspectives of others; these assignments can and will likely include mock newspaper articles as well as mock journal entries as they take on the persona of people from history such as patriots or loyalists or confederate or union soldiers.
We also will be studying the creation of the United States and how it has evolved into how we know it today. Learning about our nation helps students understand the cause and effect relationship that occurs in history and today and it can help them understand that they are an important part of our country today and can become deeply involved in our nation through politics, activism and other activities.
All writing guidelines will be explained before assignments with their individual rubrics, but overall guidelines for doing assignments, such as technical elements will be the same from assignment to assignment. Sample rubrics that will be used in my classroom for various assignments are attached.
Classroom policies and rules are listed on our class website and do not hestitate to contact me about any topic or issue that occurs. My email is [email protected] and you and/or your child/children should feel free to talk to me before or after school or make an appointment with me via email.
Sincerely,
Meghan Durst
My name is Miss Durst and I will be teaching your children this year in my Social Studies class. I am very excited at the prospect of having new students and I wanted to explain what we will be doing this year in our class and what my intentions are for my classroom.
First, I think it is important to let you know that my students are my first priority. I am always available to help my students with whatever they may need. My students are very important to me and I will do my best to do all that I can to help my students academically and with whatever other situation that arises.
In my classroom, I value the personality, diversity and creativity. I encourage critical thinking and include history to help students learn about the perspectives of others and I want to help them practice thinking skills that will help them learn about topics today and these thinking skills will help them with future problem solving and aid them in making educated decisions later in life.
Your child is in my United States history class, where we will be covering ancient American civilizations through the present, as time permits. We will be looking at primary sources, secondary sources and analyzing these sources so students can better understand the history of our nation. Students will do writing assignments that will help them see the perspectives of others; these assignments can and will likely include mock newspaper articles as well as mock journal entries as they take on the persona of people from history such as patriots or loyalists or confederate or union soldiers.
We also will be studying the creation of the United States and how it has evolved into how we know it today. Learning about our nation helps students understand the cause and effect relationship that occurs in history and today and it can help them understand that they are an important part of our country today and can become deeply involved in our nation through politics, activism and other activities.
All writing guidelines will be explained before assignments with their individual rubrics, but overall guidelines for doing assignments, such as technical elements will be the same from assignment to assignment. Sample rubrics that will be used in my classroom for various assignments are attached.
Classroom policies and rules are listed on our class website and do not hestitate to contact me about any topic or issue that occurs. My email is [email protected] and you and/or your child/children should feel free to talk to me before or after school or make an appointment with me via email.
Sincerely,
Meghan Durst
Reflection
Standard 9 | Professionalism, Leadership, and Advocacy | Performance Indicator D. | The competent teacher communicates with families, responds to concerns, and contributes to enhanced family participation in student education
This artifact addresses Standard 9, professional leadership and advocacy. As my artifact I wrote a letter to parent(s) or guardian(s) of my students that I would send out at the beginning of the year that will tell a little bit more about the class, my philosophy and how the classroom works. I want parent(s) or guardian(s) to know my intentions, and that I want their child to succeed in school and how I will help their child achieve this success. My belief the importance of parent involvement is shown in this letter because it indicates that I want parent(s) and guardian(s) to be involved in the classroom, and be able to contact me about concerns and education. Also necessary, is for me to communicate with parents as well which is indicated in the letter. This letter introduces me to parents, gives them an idea about what will happen in the classroom and gives them my contact information so that they can contact me if any concern or issue arises. This informs the parent(s) or guardian(s) and the student that I am invested in my classroom, and also communicates to them that I have a plan of action for the school year. This letter also allows parent(s) or guardian(s) to become more involved with their child's education. The letter would also include my contact information in case a parent or student needed to contact me so that they can contact me for information about their child's progress and so they can learn how they can be more involved in their child's education. The letter also communicates that I hope to meet them and likely will be contacting them, further showing my interest in communication with them and their involvement in my classroom and their child's education. This is a sign of my growth as an educator, because I believe it shows the importance of communication to me, it helps me remember my own goals and keeps me accountable to reach these goals.
Artifact II
Reflection
Standard 9 - Professionalism, Leadership, and Advocacy
Performance Indicator G |The competent teacher participates in professional development, professional organizations, and learning communities, and engages in peer coaching and mentoring activities to enhance personal growth and development
This artifact addresses Standard 9, professionalism, leadership and advocacy. This artifact is a record of two of my observations from my supervisor, one from March and one from April. Through these observations I am able to see how I am doing from someone who is objectively giving me feedback during my student teaching process. Documentation of my progress and my improvement with records from a mentor figure, like my supervisor, is an invaluable resources because it allows me to see what I do well and also see what I need to improve. These observations have greatly helped my classroom management skills as well as are helping me develop higher level questioning skills in my classroom. These observations have also given me confidence because they show me what I do well and show me that I can become a better educator through reflection of my teaching. These documents have helped me reflect on my performance and develop as a professional in the school where I am student teaching. These show that my growth as educator because it shows I reflect on my teaching processes and learn from my mistakes. It also shows that I can take and use constructive criticism. I am growing as an educator, because of my reflection on these observations and that in turn has led to my development and improvement in my professional and teaching skills.
Performance Indicator G |The competent teacher participates in professional development, professional organizations, and learning communities, and engages in peer coaching and mentoring activities to enhance personal growth and development
This artifact addresses Standard 9, professionalism, leadership and advocacy. This artifact is a record of two of my observations from my supervisor, one from March and one from April. Through these observations I am able to see how I am doing from someone who is objectively giving me feedback during my student teaching process. Documentation of my progress and my improvement with records from a mentor figure, like my supervisor, is an invaluable resources because it allows me to see what I do well and also see what I need to improve. These observations have greatly helped my classroom management skills as well as are helping me develop higher level questioning skills in my classroom. These observations have also given me confidence because they show me what I do well and show me that I can become a better educator through reflection of my teaching. These documents have helped me reflect on my performance and develop as a professional in the school where I am student teaching. These show that my growth as educator because it shows I reflect on my teaching processes and learn from my mistakes. It also shows that I can take and use constructive criticism. I am growing as an educator, because of my reflection on these observations and that in turn has led to my development and improvement in my professional and teaching skills.