Home, Sweet Home?

My classroom feels like home to me. It's my sanctuary at work. I hope that it's the same for my students. When I was working on licensure, I was asked to draw a picture of my ideal classroom. I have to say that my actual classroom is as close to that drawing as I could hope. Maybe even better. I think my classroom says more about my teaching philosophy than I ever could.

Being a teacher is really the fulfillment of a life-long dream. When I was a kid, I knew my career would either follow the teaching path or I'd end up one of "Charlie's Angels." My dad, knowing I wanted to be in law enforcement, suggested forensic science. That way I could be a part of the action and outside of any real danger (no surprise that advice came from my dad). Well, the reality of my junior year Chemistry class ended that dream. Honestly, it was not anything I really imagined myself doing. Now teaching, that was always a different story. I remember always paying attention to how my teachers did things and storing away in my mind the things I would imitate and the things I didn't want to copy from them. Since then, my becoming a teacher has become a way to pay homage to those few teachers I admired growing up. My classroom set-up is simply another way to honor those teachers.