"Education is facilitated by awe
and wonder -- reverance for nature and for the creations of man flows effortlessly from a wondrous heart
and a curious mind."
- from "My Teaching Profile"
A Personal Summary of Progress
- DEMONSTRATES ABILITY TO ENHANCE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
AND SUPPORT FOR AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT'S STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT GOALS.
a. Provides evidence of student learning to students,
families, and staff.
"And the notoriety the child receives for his finished product from family members and friends builds his courage
in all future educational endeavors."1
b. Implements strategies supporting student, building, and district goals.
c. Uses student performance data as a guide for decision making.
d. Accepts and demonstrates responsibility for creating a classroom culture
that supports the learning of every student
watered seed grows” and the quiet child may remember all their life the day the teacher praised their artwork or suggestion
in front of the class."2
an environment of mutual respect, rapport, and fairness.
quite simply that if teaching and learning are to remain mutually enjoyable, the class must
agree to follow guidelines of respect and giving that are accepted everywhere: in school and in their society; in their
family; and at their future place of employment."3
f. Participates in and contributes to a school culture that focuses on improved student learning.
g. Communicates with students, families, colleagues, and communities effectively and accurately.
DEMONSTRATES COMPETENCE IN CONTENT KNOWLEDGE APPROPRIATE TO THE TEACHING POSITION.
and uses key concepts, underlying themes, relationships, and different perspectives related to the content area.
b. Uses knowledge of student development to make learning experiences in the content area meaningful and accessible for every student.
"My love of drawing and photography led me to pursue my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at MUM. My love of
my children, and all children, has led me to take up my second major in Elementary Education." 4
c. Relates ideas and information within and across content areas.
can be a perfect day of learning. Each day’s perfection can reinforce the educational experience as a whole. Each week could
be an unforgetable week of exploration, meaningfulness and fun." 5
d. Understands and uses instructional strategies that are appropriate to the content area.
"Cross out words whenever you need to change something or to
restart a sentence. If you get stuck spelling a word put the first letter and then
a blank and come back later, but don’t stop writing just because of one word. I will
be writing, too." 6
COMPETENCE IN PLANNING AND PREPARING FOR INSTRUCTION.
student achievement data, local standards and the district curriculum in planning for instruction.
b. Sets and communicates high expectations for social, behavioral, and academic success of all students.
my student’s feelings of worthfulness to their society, I am able to ensure the second experience: feelings of
self worth -- or high self esteem -- in school and at home." 7
c. Uses student developmental needs, background, and interests in planning for instruction.
happens best when a teacher acts as a student's guide toward fascination with and exploration of any subject." 8
strategies to engage all students in learning. To use tests as a vehicle for creating feelings of capability within the student
e. Uses available resources, including technologies, in the development and sequencing of instruction.
"A Teaching Video" -- the use of overhead projectors
restricted children can perform the whole process of book creation – including the selection of clip art as illustration
– on the classroom computer." 9
4. USES STRATEGIES TO DELIVER INSTRUCTION THAT MEETS THE MULTIPLE LEARNING NEEDS OF STUDENTS.
classroom instruction with local standards and district curriculum.
b. Uses research-based instructional strategies that address the full range of cognitive levels.
"I am a re-certified
instructor in the Transcendental Meditation technique of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (visit www.tm.org). 10 I attended my training in this honored profession in Vitelle, France
in September through April of 1975 -76."
flexibility and responsiveness in adjusting instruction
to meet student needs.
"In society as
in each family there are those who are more adept at working together, and
likewise those who excel at working on their own." 11
d. Engages students in varied experiences that meet diverse needs and promote social, emotional, and academic growth.
"The slower writer is inspired by the sharing of works from more fluent writers
at the end of the writing studio each day. 12
"The gifted child is given unrestricted license 15 minutes, four to five times weekly,
to let her boundless creativity flow onto the paper. 13
"Even non-writing handicapped learners can join in by recording letters in any order as
“pretend words”, which can then be “translated into reading" by the teacher as
the child narrates his or her story orally. The student can then enjoy illustrating their typed story. 14
e. Connects students' prior knowledge, life experiences, and interests in the instructional process.
"Every child has something to contribute. Some contribute sooner, while others
may not contribue until significantly later. Whether confident or shy, I try to listen to all children’s offerings
with equal enthusiasm." 15
f. Uses available resources, including technologies, in
the delivery of instruction.
5. USES A VARIETY OF METHODS TO MONITOR STUDENT LEARNING.
a. Aligns classroom assessment with instruction.
"A ______________ turns rotational energy into electrical energy using magnets. Electricity is
electrical energy carried along ______________. ______________ connect wires and electricity to our homes to run our lights
and appliances." 16
b. Communicates assessment criteria and standards to all students and parents.
"Performance Rubric for Young Writers Workshop" 17
c. Understands and uses the results of multiple assessments to guide planning and instruction.
"Child is gaining skill at letting ideas “flow onto
the paper” as writing. 18
maintains courage during the initial stage of idea elaboration. 19
sees his own writings as something of value, equal to those of his classmates. 20
Child feels satisfaction at having expressed his ideas in writing form." 21
d. Guides students in goal setting and assessing their own learning.
"Primary children will learn the important truth that self-expression is not difficult. Once set in motion –
using the initial conditions of paper, pen, inventive spelling and a daily short period of quiet writing – the process
continues spontaneously for them." 22
Provides substantive, timely, and constructive feedback to students and parents.
Works with other staff and building and district leadership in analysis of student progress.
6. DEMONSTRATES COMPETENCE IN CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT.
a. Creates a learning community that encourages positive social interaction, active engagement, and self-regulation for every student.
"In an ideal day of teaching:
1) "There should be
ample time and quietude for deep study and for creative expression at one’s desk." 23
2) "There should
also be time for enthusiaistic sharing of the results of individual work with the whole class." 24
3) "There should be times of "bold adventure" when the whole class moves together in a great machinery of exploration
and discovery." 25
See "The Shape of the Land" - lesson plan
b. Establishes, communicates, models and maintains standards of responsible student behavior.
"In my own schooling, it was always the teacher who in
a quiet yet serious way enforced rules of mutual respect between himself and me that gained my collaboration for the
whole school year." 26
c. Develops and implements classroom procedures
and routines that support high expectations for learning.
"My goal each day as an educator is to make it virtually impossible
– through the anticipation of lively learning –
for my young students not to listen to me." 27
instructional time effectively to maximize student achievement.
"The worthful ability
for logical thinking and for creative inspiration generate confidence and vision for the future, and thus make the young student's present
learning experience a joyful one." 28
"My sixth grade girls at Maharishi School of the Age of Enlightenment (www.maharishischooliowa.org) in Fairfield, Iowa "saw" and took ownership of this project with less than five minutes
of explanation." 29
"They would need furniture, roofs, walls, provisions … and they would even need to create the scenery for their adventure – trees, rocks and
"They "went to town" notching and setting the pre-fabricated logs ... working together
to create a proper consistency mortar ..." 31
"The following day the young ladies invented
a clay-consistency dough, and with minimum help from me produced a realistic
landscape of pinecone-treed hills around their abodes." 32
"They had learned to be carpenters, planners, store owners,
and many more things in a history lesson that had truly "come to life". 33
Creates a safe and purposeful learning environment.
"The principle of the outer world depending upon his inner experience becomes clear to the child after even the first five-minute session in writing. He has begun with essentially
nothing (paper and pen) and magically has created a sentence or a paragraph that he can then read back to himself. Where did
the writing come from? Not from the outside; so it must be from the inside!" 34
“We are going to have a quiet writing period to allow our ideas to flow from inside of us.
We will do it together as a group so that the classroom will be filled with ideas!” 35
"A classroom should
recognize in its structure and layout, as well as in its creative management by the teacher, both of these personal modes
- quietly introspective and openly social. But always first should be the respect of silence, and each student's
right to experience it in his classroom." 36
7. ENGAGES IN PROFESSIONAL GROWTH.
habits and skills of continuous inquiry and learning. To employ the artistic talents that are within each child -- each day,
in as many ways as I can, and throughout the standard curriculum
b. Works collaboratively to improve professional practice and student learning.
development opportunities to improve practice.
c. Applies research, knowledge, and skills
Applying the "six traits of literacy"in the primary grades (Steve Gardiner, 1999) - "Children are taught to respect books highly. For them to create a book themselves,
therefore, puts their self-esteem at a very high level." 37
Applying the understanding of praise and encouragement (Richard LaVoie, 1997) - "Worth, or worthfulness, results from a combination of knowing one’s talents and from
knowing that one is able to use these talents in daily life. By developing my student’s
feelings of worthfulness to their society, using praise and encouragement to inspire achievment, I am
able to ensure the second experience: feelings of self-worth -- or high self-esteem -- in school and at home."
Applying the technique of "procedure establishment" for a peaceful
classroom (Harry Wong, 2001) - "Only when standard classroom behavior
and procedures are learned by the class in the first days of each school year is the teacher empowered to later enforce
rules as needed. Without this framework, the child, the teacher and especially the entire class suffer." 39
Applying the techniques and principles
of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's Consciousness-Based education - "View PBS to hear about the benefits of the twice-daily practice of Transcendental
Meditation in Consciousness-Based schools from the words of the children themselves." 40
d. Establishes and implements
professional development plans based upon the teacher needs aligned to the Iowa Teaching Standards and district/building student
8. FULFILLS PROFESSIONAL
RESPONSIBILITIES ESTABLISHED BY THE SCHOOL DISTRICT.
a. Adheres to board policies, district procedures, and contractual obligations.
b. Demonstrates professional and ethical conduct
as defined by state law and individual district policy.
c. Contributes to efforts to achieve district and building goals.
d. Demonstrates an understanding of and respect for all learners and staff.
From my goals
as an educator - "To base my teaching upon mutual respect and receptivity between myself and my students." 41
"Using the dual guidelines of kindness and discipline as a basis for my teaching, I hope to maintain
an even flow of progress in the classroom that is supportive of both maximum learning and maximum enjoyment of learning."
e. Collaborates with students, families, colleagues, and communities to enhance student learning.
References and Recommendations
"Interactive Six-Trait Writing Process" created by Steve Gardiner
An online interdisciplnary approach to teaching and the six traits of good writing:
content, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency and conventions.
"When the Chips Are Down" by Richard Lavoie (1998)
A video presentation on the use of praise and encouragement in raising the self-esteem
and the quality of classroom behavior for children in general, and for those suffering from learning disabilities.
"The First Days of School" by Harry K. Wong (1998)
How positive expectations, a prepared and stable classroom environment and
creative lesson mastery can dramatically improve the experience of both teaching and of learning in schools.
"The only book you will need on classroom management." - A thirty-year third-grade master teacher and mentor at Maharishi
School of the Age of Enlightenment
"A Record of Excellence" by Ashley Deans
A record of the achievments of students at the award-winning Maharishi School
of the Age of Enlightenemt in Fairfield, Iowa. Includes a thorough introduction to the core procedure of Consciousness-Based
education - i.e. the Transcendental Meditation technique - and its proven benefits for the mind, health and happiness