I am convinced that success in the classroom depends less on which beliefs we hold and more on simply having a set of beliefs that guides us in our day-to-day work with children. Once we know who we are and what we’re about in the classroom, we become intentional in our teaching; we do what we do on purpose, with good reason. Intentional teachers are thoughtful, reflective people who are conscious of the decisions they make and the actions they take; they live and teach by the principals and practices they value and believe in.

If I were to ask you to close your eyes and envision the perfect classroom scene, what would you see? What would you hear and smell and feel? Think big! If everything were going just the way you’d like it to, what would be happening? What would your kids be doing? How about you?

The walls of the classroom speak; student work and anchor charts are everywhere. New learning and the mental processes readers, writers, mathematicians, and scientists use to construct meaning and enhance comprehension are made visible, public, and permanent. The questions, ideas, and big understandings recorded sound like real voices of real kids. “Come learn with us!” they seem to say.

Classroom practice must be based on richly understood and deeply held beliefs about how children learn to read. In other words, what teachers say and do and how they engage children in reading acts must have theoretical underpinnings. Their practice is not based on a publisher’s set of teacher directions or a handbook filled with teaching tips, but on concepts they themselves have examined carefully. (Shelley Harwayne)

These are my beliefs:

• Classroom environments are most effective when they are literate and purposeful, organized and accessible, and, most of all, authentic.
• We cannot underestimate the power of our influence—what we choose to say and do in the classroom profoundly affect the ways children view their teacher, themselves, and each other.
• Learning is maximized when the lessons I design are purposeful, interactive and engaging, with real world applications.
• The gradual release of responsibility instructional model, integrated into a workshop format, best guides children toward understanding and independence.
• Formative, ongoing assessment enlightens and informs my day-to-day work with children.
• A workshop format based on the elements of time, choice, response, and community fosters active, responsive teaching and learning.

We’re the ones in the unique and wonderful position to know where our kids have been, where they are now, and where it makes the most sense to take them next. Real life isn’t scripted. Neither is real teaching.