I believe all students should have the opportunity to prepare for their future.  Students should be taught to be independent thinkers and make a positive contribution to society.  We must instill in students the importance of becoming a lifelong learner.  We should also help students with their emotional development and help them build self-esteem. 

            A successful school will expect a high level of achievement and provide the time and instruction to achieve student success.  A school should also provide a caring and supportive environment, ensure safety, and create opportunities to explore and grow.  A successful school also provides connections with home and community experiences.

                        Schools should respond to challenge by implementing zero-tolerance policies, increasing school security, and implementing formal school violence prevention or reduction programs.

            A successful school not only requires safety and security but also requires us, as teachers, to meet the needs of students.  A few basic needs for students are: positive reinforcement, disciplinary actions that are followed through with, and feeling accepted and wanted by the teacher and other students.  Whenever a student does something worthy or praise, praise them.  Some of the students go home to such negative comments and the only positive thing they might hear all day comes out of their teacher’s mouth.  On the other hand when a students gets out of hand, it is mandatory to let them know that there are consequences to their action and the teacher will follow through with them.  It is hard for an angry child to learn anything.

            A teacher’s role is very important.  The teacher should be motivating, inspiring, and directing students to the sources of information that will be most helpful.  The teacher should help children develop a sense of responsibility and self-discipline, work on conflict resolution skills, involve students in group discussions about social issues and what they are learning, and focus on student’s strengths and interests in school.

            The teacher should also guide children to develop areas of weakness and encourage and allow students to express themselves through their preferred modalities.  Students should be encouraged to experiment with various media and technologies, which can plant the seed for future proficiency.  Teacher must do all they can to avoid failure while maintaining a certain level of academic measure.

            It is the teacher’s responsibility to help the student become intellectually reflective, a good citizen, a caring and ethical individual and a healthy person.  The teacher should interact with every student everyday in an encouraging and positive manner.  The teacher should ask questions directly linked to students interests such as their opinions of classroom activities and the learning process.

            These questions will promote a sense of community and establish a welcoming environment.  All students should be encouraged to give input.  Teachers communicating respect and value for students opinions and contributions can enhance students feelings of self-worth.  By establishing a meaningful interaction with students, the teacher’s vision will become clearer to students.

            I believe all students have their own individualized styles of learning and it is the teacher’s responsibility to recognize these learning styles.  All students possess a curiosity and desire to learn.  They also respond positively to success and enthusiasm.  Students should be allowed to develop and learn at different rates and demonstrate learning in different ways.  Each student should feel a sense of belonging.  The teacher should share stories about his/her family members and encourage students to talk about their lives outside of school.

            Students should be highly interactive and have every opportunity for physical movement and peer interaction.  Students must be aware that they are required to share responsibilities in the classroom.

            Children are natural leaders and should be allowed to explore freedom, test know-how, try new experiences, and make mistakes without fear of criticism.  The classroom should be a friendly place and students should be allowed to explore their freedom while in the classroom.

            Children must be required to use creative thinking skills to solve problems, to analyze and evaluate.  These skills can be carried into real life situations such as the work place.  When instructional tasks are designed so that students have to think and manipulate information, students become more likely to remember the new information longer.  Each student has things they do well, and other things they do poorly.  Teachers should provide a variety of learning styles and give students a choice in presenting their knowledge of a particular subject.  If teachers are too rigid with their requirements, students with learning disabilities can develop poor self-esteem when they have much to offer our world.

            In closing, education should provide all students the opportunity to learn.  This learning should occur in a way that helps the students prepare for their futures.  Students should be taught to become independent thinkers and make a positive contribution to society.  Teachers should implement a creative and motivational program that stresses cooperation by working in cooperative learning groups.  Cooperative learning groups promote such skills as cooperation, compromise, encouragement, and flexibility.  These are skills that will have life-long benefits to students.