Monday, September 8, 2014
Spotlight on Middle School Teachers - Mrs. Patricia London
Mrs. Patricia London is a learning specialist who has joined our faculty this year. Below is her statement of philosophy on educating children:
In order to achieve, a child must have the confidence to first “try.” As a certified learning consultant and a former member of a multi-disciplinary child study team, I know it is important to make careful observations about how children learn. My background as a special educator, school psychologist and learning specialist, enables me to analyze how a child at any age masters a task. Studying a child’s strengths and weaknesses has helped me to identify those strategies that a teacher should attempt for successful learning to take place.
My personal philosophy of teaching is that failure is never an option for a student. Instead, I feel that making accommodations, differentiating instruction, and providing alternative approaches to a task help a child who is overwhelmed.
I personally enjoy working together with teachers to develop problem- solving models that they can use with a student and also pass on to parents. I try to break down the diverse needs of a student and then help him understand what he is being asked to do on an assignment. Having a child think about what is involved in an assignment, talking about the steps necessary, and discussing a strategy, has allowed me to help a wide range of students become better learners.
My philosophy thus includes identifying the needs of a child and using diagnostic prescriptive teaching. Because every child wants to learn and every teacher wants to be successful, the goals of my own sessions with students are clear. When a child begins to improve academically, self -confidence and self-esteem empower him in the classroom. By understanding himself, a youngster is able to plan ahead, balance a schedule, and make more of an effort to attempt a difficult assignment. I therefore believe it is important to analyze the “whole child” as a learner, not merely the subject that he is trying to master. A child with any kind of learning difference may need a little more time or an explanation repeated in other words. There is always a celebration when a child “tries his or her best.”
Providing children with opportunities to try a different strategy, teaching them to verbalize what they need to do, and observing them internalize an approach that works is gratifying to me as a teacher.