How has the way you teach changed over the years? What lessons have you learned?

Although my style of teaching may be different now than from how I taught in the beginning of my career, my philosophy has not changed. No matter what the topic or content area is, standards and goals should drive what is taught and instruction should be tailored to meet the needs of the students. The students' learning of the standards needs to be assessed and decisions about instruction should stem from the assessment.

Teaching in a small one-room classroom had many challenges, but it was conducive to focusing on the individual needs of each child. Although my philosophy of teaching has not changed, my style of teaching has changed by incorporating technology into my classroom for personal, instructional and assessment purposes. I have become more sensitive to the different styles in which students learn and perform and have become more effective in incorperating those styles within my instruction.

What advice would you give to a teacher who's starting their first year and feels overwhelmed?

I would tell the first-year teacher that they are feeling overwhelmed because they have exactly what it takes to be an excellent teacher. The reason they are feeling overwhelmed are the same reasons that make them an outstanding teacher; they want the best for their students and they will go above and beyond the call of duty to see that each child receives the attention they need.

I would continue to encourage them by ensuring that although the demands of the job don't necessarily vanish over time, the way in which the teacher deals with the demands will. With experience, the new teacher (similar to mothers) will develop a sixth sense of prioritizing issues based on their importance and urgency, as well as becoming effective in assigning small tasks to aids and voluteers to lessen the load. In that sense, the job does get easier with time.

What do you think the key has been to your success as a teacher?

My success as a teacher has been a result of standing firm on my beliefs about children and their education. Although at times I have questioned my belief that every child can learn and the classroom teacher's role is to accomodate the needs of every child to ensure that learning does occur, all my major instructional decisions have been filtered through this philosophy.

In severe situations, when I have questioned this belief, I always found myself asking, "If this were my child, what would I expect and want for them?" This question, that I find myself asking more frequently lately, is what keeps me focused and determined to see that each child reaches success in my classroom.