What does your teaching style look like?

So I mentioned in my last post that I attended a Tribes training session during the holiday break. It was actually a fantastic learning experience and I was able to meet some incredible educators who had very similar beliefs and values when it comes to our students and our goals as teachers.

The program involves creating a safe and healthy learning environment for effective cooperative learning for all students. It's backed up by years of research and the result is you teaching less and kids learning and retaining more from you and one another. If you'd like to check out the nearest workshop or read more about the program check out their website!

One of the activities that we did during the workshop really struck a chord with me.  I bring this particular one up because I think it has really made me reevaluate my teaching philosophy and my approach to my covering letter.  We were asked to think about the type of teacher we would like to be in terms of nature.  Around the room were signs showing the options.  The examples were: meadow, river, ocean, jungle, mountain, hills etc.

Each person was given a few minutes to think about what kind of teacher they wanted to be and then asked to walk to their station.  There they bonded with other teachers of similar sentiments and shared their reasoning for their choice.  Many people had chosen the water scenes while only me and two others had chosen mountains. This is a general idea of what I said and I find myself coming back to that activity time and time again as I revise and focus on my job application. 

I explained that I chose mountains because it represents my students climbing and working hard in order to achieve success.  I see them always looking up to the sky in order to get to the top, my visual representation of dreaming big with no limits,  but  at the same time having their feet always firmly grounded on a solid foundation.  The top of the mountain is high enough that you have to keep working and looking up but low enough that it's an attainable goal.  I imagine my students reaching this peak, able to enjoy the fruits of their labour and look around and see with pride all that they have accomplished.   I truly hope that I always remember this goal as I progress through my teaching career.

So, picturing yourself as the best teacher you can possibly be, what do you hope your teaching style will look like?