Socio-cultural influences

In my self-contract, I told myself I wanted to make learning suitable to all students' needs. I wanted to appeal to different learning styles, incorporate cooperative learning, etc., but in reality, it is easier said than done and one needs to figure out exactly how to incorporate all of these things into the classroom even when you have so much else going on. One thing I also wrote was that I wanted to make the content in my classroom as diverse and relevant to the students as possible. I took into account that students of all different races, religious, cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds enter the school and it is so important for them to see themselves in the history and literature covered throughout the term and throughout their academic careers. If we use the example of cooperative learning and students were able to talk in peer groups about something that is important to their own respective cultures, I think they would have a lot they could teach the class and it would be something that is meaningful to them as well.

I didn't talk about multiple intelligences in my self-contract, but I would want to incorporate a variety of teaching tools so that students are able to grasp the material in a way that suits them. I would be willing to try a variety of different ways to introduce a lesson not only because it would help them understand the content, but because it's fun! I remember in high school, my favorite classes were the ones where the teacher tried something different to get us interacting with one another and the material. For example, in my grade 10 English class, my teacher made groups of students act out a scene from Romeo & Juliet. For those students who learn better through performance, it was great. But for those who normally don't take Drama or don't have an opportunity to act in other classes, it was a fun experience and a very memorable one. Everyone was participating and having fun compared to a situation where we would simply read the play together (which I have done many, many times in high school and university).

The best experiences I've had in classes is when the teacher does something out of the ordinary to get students motivated and allow them to have fun in learning. When writing my self-contract, I did not focus on theories I wanted to incorporate, but rather my own experiences and thinking, "When I'm a teacher, I want to be like Mr. So-and-so."