Philosophy of Education
By
Ana Victoria Cortijo
I am a progressive educator, and my greatest pleasure is to help my students become effective in society by facilitating practical knowledge and problem solving skills, I wholeheartedly believe that student's needs, interest, and individual life experiences are key elements to help their education. I also believe that learners have a wealth of potential and knowledge that often they don't even realize they possess. Therefore, I value building relationships with my students, establishing and maintaining open lines of communication, so that I can help them tap into their prior knowledge and experiences as the core foundation by which to build a greater understanding of new concepts.
As a second language instructor and a student, I understand that how a learner "feels" about a learning situation will ultimately determine the amount of attention and participation the learner will dedicate to it. Therefore, I strive to make my students feel emotionally secure by establishing a positive and respectful learning environment from the beginning, and encouraging students to take risks by fully participating in the development and execution of activities that will make sense to them, but most important have meaning for them.
My primary goal is to provide my student with the perfect conditions for successful practice and language learning. I believe in laughter, respect, and diversified theories to keep students constantly motivated and wanting to improve their performance at all times. I aim to provide students with achievable challenges, while promoting rigorous engagements necessary to understand the different ways new knowledge and skills can be applied and transferred into different situations. I believe that by providing critical reflection activities, I can help my students analyze the results of their application of new knowledge, and the changes needed to improve their future performance.
I enjoy using eclectic methods and teaching styles, and selecting small amounts of material that will have the maximum meaning for the learner in each class encounter. My objective is to aid and model a step-by-step process, so that learners can apply the knowledge and focus the practice in their individual situations. I believe in giving many opportunities for guided practice, and providing prompt and specific feedback on the variables that need correction to enhance performance. My hope is for my students to practice the target language while noticing progress in their achievements and accuracy of application, rather than practicing as a mere repetition of a skill that yields no improvement or benefit. I place a high value in diversity and culture, because I understand that sharing these two perspectives bring uniqueness and comfort to the classroom environment by helping everyone feel comfortable in expressing who they are, their needs, views, and opinions.
My wish is to always be able to build connections with my students, and strive to do my best to provide effective instruction, maintain a safe and productive learning environment, facilitate skills in context and through application, and design lessons to help maximize learning, understanding, and engagement. If throughout my career I can live a life of service for my students by imparting knowledge, facilitating their development of wisdom, empowering them to embrace every opportunity to use their God-given gifts effectively, and helping them to step out of their professional and educational comfort zones to take wise risks towards their learning and professions, this would be all I need to feel professionally fulfilled. If every year that passes I can learn something new from those I am supposed to teach, then I am simply blessed!
Ana Victoria
"Any task can be made pleasurable if we approach it with a different attitude. If we have long held a mindset that a particular activity is arduous, changing to a mindful attitude may be difficult, but the difficulty stems from the mindset and not the activity"
Ellen J. Langer