Lifelong learners make the most influential teachers. I hope that’s true, because I’m a lifelong learner, and I want to make a difference in the lives of others. I want to be a teacher that inspires others to think outside of the box and pursue their goals with level heads and passionate souls. Education is all around us, but that intuitive nature flourishes in the classroom, first.
I am vested in continued learning. It’s hard to keep an inquisitive mind out of school. I pursued a career in journalism because I was committed to making the outside world my learning laboratory. I couldn’t bear the idea of being done with school, for good. My teaching philosophy is that no one has to be done with learning, ever. Any student interested in pursuing a career in storytelling will come to learn that every school subject will play a part in being able to tell stories well.
Teachers, I think, are meant to do more than share information. They are meant to facilitate and inspire what students do with the information they learn. I will create a comfortable and creative environment that invites students to discuss topics relevant to their own lives and to the lives of others. My students will learn the many roles they can play in a journalistic field, and hone skills that will grant them a versatile foundation for becoming the eyes and ears of their community.
I’ll show students how they can craft a profession out of creative storytelling, and how they too can become lifelong learners of topics they find interesting. They can learn more about the subjects that inspire their minds to dig further, then share the information they acquire in ways that impact the school community. It’s my goal to motivate students to pursue subjects that stimulate their thought process. It’s my goal to make them excited about topics they study in other classes and bring those textbooks to life.
MELANIE J. PELLOWSKI 