Every student should be supported to ensure they are safe, cared for, and heard. As a starting point, these are basic natural and social needs for every human. In addressing student success in the classroom, we first must address our basic needs. When our basic needs are taken care of, the pro social goals for our classroom community become easier to attain

Education is something I view as being responsible, in part, for helping to build critical creative thinkers, give space to vulnerability, promote resiliency & self-sufficiency, and develop a sense of self. These goals are often listed as secondary or supportive to academic goals, but they form an overarching and lifelong set of skills for any student.

The classroom and classroom teacher must operate in community to run smoothly as a whole, but also to meet the individualized needs of many of our students. Any classroom focused on student success should employ equity; being fair and just while considering varying inequalities faced and supports needed. An equitable teacher will be able to reflect on their own positioning and reflexively respond to the needs of their classroom, having specific research-based approaches to support.

In my classroom, I have found that the standout aspects of my teaching have been; classroom management, relationship building, growth mindset, constructivism, research-based frameworks.

While there is clearly a hierarchy of needs a student might have, a successful teacher in support of their classroom is constantly in a dance of proactivity, reflection, and reflexivity. It is my belief that a successful classroom requires all of these hats to be worn–often multiple at a time & interchangeable–and for us to have the wherewithal to differentiate when it is needed.