To Whom It May Concern,
I am a passionate educator and a self-directed, continuous learner.
I teach to create a safe place for students where they are known, empowered, and loved. One of my goals is to share my enthusiasm for learning and to inspire a desire to become a life-long learner in my students. I consistently create pathways between parents and guardians of students and the world of education, and place importance on engaging with families outside of an 8:00 am- 2:15 pm school day in order to make them feel valued. At the end of the day, I want my students to walk out of the classroom encouraged, knowing that they have classmates and teachers who are on their team.
I believe in teaching students accountability and responsibility for their actions, providing students with ownership over their learning, and giving students space for critical and creative thinking within the environment of a democratic classroom. I have experience monitoring student progress through planned formative assessments, scaffolded instruction, and student self- assessments.
I value data that drives my instruction, authentic assessments within the classroom, and collaboration with colleagues through both vertical and horizontal alignment of grade levels. I believe that I have expertise in innovations in curriculum to bring to an educational environment, and at the same time my colleagues will have expertise in other areas that I can learn from as well. I have learned how to ask for help when approaching different situations after working multiple solutions myself in the classroom first.
I am passionate about integrating arts, science, and technology into lesson plans because I believe that it molds kids into well-rounded students. I am skilled at delivering instruction in unique ways that integrate core concepts. I believe that kinesthetic learning promotes the formation of new connections within students’ brains, and therefore I integrate movement as much as possible into my instruction.
I plan to emphasize the importance of providing students with standards-based lesson plans within my classroom that incorporate real-world connections in order to make content purposeful and relevant to their lives. Education brings a greater awareness to the student of the world around them and instills in them a passion and a purpose to grow to become effective democratic citizens.
I believe that I have developed excellent classroom management skills through my diverse experiences in different grade levels, and base my classroom management techniques on the strategies of the practice of Love & Logic. I strongly believe the best classroom management comes from rewarding positive behaviors rather than punishing incorrect behaviors.
I bring strengths that include communication and organizational skills, a seamless ability to work with varying ages and developmental levels, and a passion for integrating technology into the classroom to any collaborative teaching team.
My bottom line in education is that students will walk through my classroom door every morning knowing that their teacher values them as an individual and excited to express their creativity and uniqueness throughout the school day.
Thank you for taking the time to get to know me!
With joy,
Tiana Grap
