Throughout the world, there are many professions that involve the care of children. Among them, is the rewarding profession of teaching. As a teacher, your students become an important part of your life. A teacher’s duties go beyond teaching fractions and nouns. Teachers are comforters when students are hurting. When they need to talk, your ears are their salvation. When they have a problem, your classroom is their sanctuary. Because the teaching profession goes beyond assigning homework, it is important to know about the development and needs of children, so that you can help them reach their full potential.

The most obvious way to help children reach their potential is by meeting their cognitive needs. I believe that teachers should provide a well rounded, quality education that will prepare their students for life. As a teacher, I will make learning interesting and exciting for my students. I will create intriguing games and activities that will captivate their attention and encourage learning. I will introduce them to new concepts and help them understand how the new learned knowledge will apply to their life.

Another crucial area that must be nurtured by teachers is the growth and development of their students. I believe teachers should provide opportunities to stimulate gross and fine motor skills, no matter the age of the student. I will stimulate my students’ growth and development as often as I can. One way I will encourage fine motor skill development in my students is by using manipulatives in my lessons as often as possible. If my students are learning fractions, I will use fraction kits and play pizzas. When practicing division, my students will use beans and blocks to physically perform the problems on their worksheets. I will use cell models when teaching my students about cells. When my students learn about the metric system, they will use scales and weights to discover conversions. I will also stimulate fine motor movement by turning assignments into craft projects that require various fine motor skills. I will turn vocabulary lists into poster puzzles that my students will need to piece together. My students will turn book reports into mobiles. When learning about the solar system, my students will make models of stars, planets, and galaxies. I will take advantage of any opportunity my students have to develop their fine muscles.

There are also many ways that I will stimulate my students’ gross motor development. One way I will do this is by creating games and activities that require gross motor movement. I will take my students outside to play “adjective tag.” When reviewing for tests we will play relay games. When learning about events in history, my students will create skits to present the new material to their fellow classmates. Another way I will stimulate gross motor development is by allowing my students to move often during the day. During reading time I will allow my students to move around the class and position themselves in areas they find comfortable, instead of keeping them in their seats. When doing hands-on assignments, I will allow my students to work on the floor and sprawl their work on rugs placed in various areas of the classroom. I will find opportunities to allow my students gross motor movement.

I will also help my students reach their developmental potential by encouraging social growth. I will arrange the desks in my classroom into pods so that my students can do group work regularly and interact with their peers often. I will change seating charts often so that my students become acquainted with all their peers. I will encourage teamwork by assigning group projects often. I will rotate groups so that the children are always working with someone new. I will do “getting to know you” activities in class so that my students have the opportunity to learn about each other. I will have a bulletin board dedicated to the student of the week. I will post their picture and allow them to create a poster that describes them and their interests. I will try to make every learning experience a sociable one so that my students can develop the social skills they will depend on as adults.

I will nurture my students’ growth by allowing them to grow and develop emotionally. One way I will do this is by allowing them to incorporate their thoughts and feelings into personal assignments throughout the school year. Every morning, my students will write their daily journal entry. Some days I will write prompts on the board, and other days it will be entirely up to them. I will also have “Feather Circles” every Friday. During <st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Feather Circle</st1:address></st1:Street>, my students will sit in a circle and listen quietly as each of their classmates reads the personal story they have worked on throughout the week. Even if the story relates something as simple as the joy they felt when they taught their puppy how to sit, it is an emotional contribution they are making and it will help them learn to better express themselves emotionally. I will always encourage my students to express themselves in a positive and respectful manner.