The exercise and reflection it has taken to thoughtfully write my personal mission statement as an educator has been one of the most powerful and significant things I have ever done. This mission statement is my compass for my professional life as a teacher.
My mission is:
- That my life and career as an educator would honor the men who influenced my learning and had a passion for history and education – Mr. Goldfarb (James S. Rickards High), Dr. Monte Finkelstein (Tallahassee Community College), Dr. Eli Dunagan and Dr. Steven Woodworth (Toccoa Falls College).
- To be a passionate expert on educating others and using social studies as that medium.
- To live my life in such a way that my family and I are example of how to live life in love, acceptance, forgiveness, and fun.
- To nurture a relationship with my students; empowering them to believe that they can succeed, and that their effort produces awesome achievement.
- To celebrate my students’ individual learning, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic differences, drawing them to a place of unity as a class and as human beings.
- To provide an exciting, motivating, and challenging learning environment with quality instruction that celebrates our differences and unifies us for service in the worldwide community.
- To be a role model of the most extreme kind; one that shows love and how to love others.
- To use and allow students to use technology at every opportunity in the classroom and for assignments and projects; thus allowing students’ creativity room to flourish and expand.
- To promote a love of learning through the development of critical cognitive skills so that my students might become lifelong learners.
- To encourage and motivate students, no matter what, that staying in school and continuing their education well into the ranks of higher education is one of the most valuable things they can ever do.
- To treasure, respect, nurture, praise, and encourage my students daily because I love them.
- To work hard as an educator and contribute, sponsor, and participate in extra activities that interest my students.
- To teach my students a sense of responsibility for themselves, one another, their school, community, and our planet.
- To have high expectations of my students and the patience to help guide them to reach those expectations.
- To develop the whole student, not just so they know content, but so they are ready for college, to enter the workforce, and have families that love each other and their neighbors.