Throughout my educational experiences I have been exposed to many different teachers, all who have effected what kind of teacher I want to become.  I have found that the teachers that were the most effective were the ones that were fair then kind.  I hope to become the teacher that not only the students, but also parents, and colleagues love and respect.  I feel that to become this kind of teacher that the person needs to be well balanced.  This delicate tightrope walk is what makes great teachers.
In my classroom the safety of the students will always come first.  Students need to feel safe and comfortable before they will be able to learn.  They need to be responsible for their actions.  Students in my class will be given the opportunity to make choices in how they want to behave and learn.  By offering the opportunity for decisions in the classroom students are given power over their own education, therefore giving them responsibility.
    The goal of education in the elementary school is to aid in the students understanding and ability to interpret the world around them.  I do not feel that this can be completed inside a classroom with the blinds closed.  Students need the opportunity to connect what they are learning to what is around them.  I plan to offer many pragmatic activities that allow the students to be hands-on in their learning.  The outdoors has so much to teach us and we just need to take to time to learn.  I plan to continually incorporate environmental education by enforcing environmentally positive habits and activities.  The classroom is a learning community and each students will “do their part,” to make their community inside and out “clean and green”.
I feel that my strengths as an educator lie in my ability to think and act creatively.  To me ideas are things that can be done not mental abstractions.  Being a theater concentration was a choice I made for my students and myself.  I have always loved being a part of a theater production and seeing live performances.  As I teacher I need to be able to entertain kids in order to keep their attention.   Also, by incorporating the arts into the classroom students are faced with problem solving techniques that allow them to think.  I plan to use my creative thinking to generate ideas on how to modify my teaching style and speed to fit the needs of all my learners.
    By becoming the acrobat that can walk the delicate balance between fun and firm I hope to connect and educate students through learning experiences that will aid in the understanding and importance of the beautiful world around them.