I once had a professor tell me that “we don’t protect what we don’t care about, and we don’t care about what we don’t know.”  This quote means that if we are to protect something then we will need to first learn about it because if we don’t know about it then we won’t make changes to protect it.  This mindset is something that I will apply when I am teaching science. Currently we have one planet to live on and we must protect it.  If students are to take action to protect the Earth and preserve a positive quality of life, it is necessary that they are properly educated about the world around them.  If they are not, they will have no reason to care enough to make a change.  I see education as preparation for everyday and the future.  I want to teach science to students in a way that they will retain information and be able to apply it in their day-to-day life.  In the 21st century I believe that every student needs to set up with the skills for them to be able to think for themselves.  There is lots of misinformation on the internet, and technologies such as artificial intelligence is making it more and more difficult to discern what information is correct.  I want to educate my students on how to be independent thinkers so they can use these technologies well and navigate around false information.

              I see students as who they have the possibility to become as well as who they are now.  I want to help student to reach their full potential academically and as people and help them to know the value that they have exactly as they are now.  Students of today have more access to information than ever before and as a teacher I want to help them know what to do with all that information and understand what they are learning.  Students are important members of society and the way that they are taught can have drastic impacts on who they are and in turn how they contribute to society.  My classroom is going to have an environment that encourages students to ask questions.  I will have time at the beginning of each class to ask questions and try and find the answers to encourage students to ask questions and seek out answers in their everyday life.  I will also introduce students to resources such as National Geographic websites and online libraries so that they can look for answers to questions that they may have from reputable sources.   

              Curriculum to me is like stepping stones.  I want students to learn about our planet so that they care about it with the hope that once they care about it, they will want to protect it and make it a better place.  By following curriculum, students will learn all of the necessary information that they need to in order to achieve their academic goals in the future, as well as gain a deep understanding and thus a strong sense of respect, care and responsibility for the earth. 

              I teach students through experiences as much as possible.  I show them physical examples of the materials we are covering, and I allow them to be hands on whenever possible.  I will use individuals and group projects and presentations often as a form of assessment in combinations with tests.  I want learning to be exciting and memorable so that they will think back to what they have learned in class when situations arise that they need it.