Andrea Knope
- What grade and subject do / did you teach? Why did you want to become a teacher?
I have taught 4th, 1st, and kindergarten. I also taught for two years at Sylvan. I have wanted to be a teacher since I was young, but I managed in retail for several years while my husband was in the military and when my son was young. I finally went back to school in 2001 for my degree and just in 2010 received my masters in teaching.
- What is your stance on education?
Education is more than academics; it’s motivating and inspiring students to learn and grow. Furthermore, education is not just in the classroom; it’s a myriad of learning experiences that come from home, the community, families, friends, varying cultures, and life experiences. Also, the education of life should and hopefully is a positive one for our youngsters. We, as teachers & parents, strive to assist and guide our children towards the most healthy, constructive and prosperous education, in both the social & academic avenues of learning.
- Do you believe in merit pay? Why or why not?
Personally, I do not feel merit pay is fair simply because of the fact that every teacher’s classroom of students is different with a variety of needs, especially for special education teachers. Not every individual student is the same, they all have different weaknesses and strengths and some take longer to learn, whereas some learn quickly. One cannot base a teacher’s effectiveness on how much a student learns from a single test in a small amount of time. This is not a true measurement on how each student was able to learn and how much he/she has grown academically.
- Do you have any horror stories dealing with your class or students?
Every teacher has had ups and downs throughout their years in teaching, but what’s most important is knowing that the children are learning…truly learning and seeing that “spark” in their eyes once they have understood a concept.
- Can you recall an inspirational or memorable experience you had while teaching?
My most memorable experience is when a student has said to me “Learning is fun!”
- If you could go back in time and give advice to yourself about teaching, what would it be?
My advice to myself would be “take one step at a time” and “move a little slower”. I tend to get very enthusiastic when I teach and find that I may speak too fast or loud and I have had to learn to slow things down a little, as well as tone down the volume.
- What would you tell someone thinking about becoming a teacher?
You must truly want to teach-it’s not an easy job. It takes dedication, patience, strength of character, flexibility, and a motivation to continue to learn and improve on one’s own skills.
- Public or Private school? Why?
Either school is fine. I have taught in the public school setting but would not have a problem teaching in the private school setting, as well. Teaching is teaching. However, I do not think private schools have the ability to insure their employees as much as the public schools.
- Do you think that education in America is improving? Why or why not?
{Oh dear! That’s a tough topic.} I think that it has improved through the years since I went to school, because there is a more thorough set of standards for the school curriculums, and teachers are held at a higher standard. What I mean by this is that teachers are required to go through stricter procedures and schooling in order to become a teacher. However, I personally feel that education has NOT focused on the fact that each and every child is different in their strengths, weaknesses, how they learn, and how they grow.
- Can you please share with us your website? What is it about?
My website is Knope’s New Educators’ Website at http://www.knopesneweducatorswebsite.com/.
I first developed the website to help my colleagues with activities to use in their classroom. Now it has grown into a website for any teacher to find ideas and activities they can also utilize in the classroom, along with articles and other rich resources.
- Teaching is……………….an art, a skill in all skills, a commitment, and a myriad of inspiring ideas transferred from one mind to another.
“…one-fourth preparation and three-fourths theater. “~Gail Godwin
“..leaving a vestige of one-self in the development of another.”~Eugene P. Bertin
“…cultivating a garden, and those who would have nothing to do with thorns must never attempt to gather flowers. “~Author Unknown
0 comments:
Post a Comment