5 R's and a T

Respectful -- Each student is treated as an individual with regards to their needs and abilities and their wants and desires.

Responsive -- All students are allowed to talk in my classroom in order to help each other master concepts. I as an educator need to provide more opportunities for dialogue to occur. During times of conversation, I need to be aware of cultural issues that may arise.

Responsible -- Each student is responsible to attempt to participate in classroom discussions and instruction. Each student is responsible to attempt to complete their homework. As the teacher, I am responsible to make sure all students are engaged and learning. One thing I struggle with is keeping a student, who appears to not care or have no desire to make any effort, engaged.

Resourceful -- As the teacher, I need to seek out the resources that I need to help the students learn. Students need to seek out the resources that are available to support them. One resource our math department has begun this year is 'Lunch Learning Lab'(LLC). Everyday at lunch, 2 math teachers staff the LLC and are available to help all students with homework, further instruction, etc. I wish students would take more advantage of the LLC. On resource I need to find ways to use is the families of my students.

Reasonable -- I need to be reasonable in the amount of work that I assign and what the student is expected to do. I need to be reasonable in the expectations for myself. In the DVD, Dr. Eugene Garcia suggested to do the things well that you can do well. I as a teacher, mother and wife, need to be sure that I do not allow myself to be overwhelmed because then I am less effective in everything.

Theory Driven -- The instructional strategies used in my classroom need to be based on proven theory. I need to use less direct instruction and more collaborative groups. CREDE standard #4 is to emphasize dialogue over lecture. The SIOP strategies need to continue to be used to develop language while learning the content. My continual goal as a teacher is to make learning available and valuable to all students.