About Me
from Megan Tourangeau's portfolio
About myself and my philosophy as an educator.
Some Information About Myself
Growing up, my father was in the military and our family moved frequently across the country from down south, up to the northeast, and now the midwest. These moves have given me a greater understanding for the differences in people and experiences with developing new relationships with friends, family, neighbors, and colleagues. I always have connected with children, so as my first job I chose to lifeguard. It was a job I enjoyed so I chose to pursue a career with children. I took a class in high school which introduced students to the world of teaching and working with young children. This introduction only confirmed my professional path. I wanted to offer children an opportunity to discover the differences in others like I had had as a child. I chose to go to college at Miami University of Ohio and the lack of differences in the student population continued to push me towards my goal of creating an understanding of diversity in my students. The classes I have taken have given me more direction and the ambition to become a more holistic educator. After graduating Miami, I hope to find a position teaching in 2nd or 3rd grade. I am looking to teach in the the local tri-state area. After moving so frequently in my childhood, I would like to take the opportunity to finally settle in an area surrounded by friends and family. After a few years of teaching, I would like to pursue my masters degree in education and work closely with special education and its integration into a "typical" classroom. I think it is important to gain the foundations in teaching before trying to work with students who have more needs than typical students. Down the road, I plan on pursuing a doctorate and becoming a teacher educator at a local university. These ambitions may change over the years but I believe that as an educator, I will always consider myself to be a student and a life-long learner.
My ABC's of Teaching - Teaching Platform
Aid students in achieving their goals
Believe in children and they will believe in themselves
Catch a child in an act of kindness
Demand a child’s best work
Enhance children’s’ ability to learn
Focus on strengths as well as weaknesses
Generate a community in your classroom
Help a child help another
Interact with students in and out of class
Juggle your time between parents, students, and assigned duties
Keep children motivated in the classroom
Learn something new everyday
Maintain consistency
Never neglect responsibilities of an educator
Observe each student every morning
Participate in community events with your class
Quiz children in order to make sure they are all on the same page
Reach out to the children that need you the most
Strengthen confidence in every child
Teach
Use lesson plans as strictly a guide
Venture out of what is “easy”
Win the respect of your students
X-tra credit should not be given
Yearn to do better than the day before
Zip up everyone’s jackets, its cold outside
Words to Embroider on a Teacher's Pillow
"Knowing that all children want and need to belong - to be loved and protected by caring adults and to fit in with their peer group - can help us look through their troublesome behavior to se the vulnerable child behind the bothersome or menacing exterior" (Alfie Kohn, p. 30). Learning to Trust – Marilyn Watson.
“Real classroom communities are more than just a loo. Real communities flourish when we bring together the voices, hearts, and souls of the people who inhabit them” (p.17). – Reading with Meaning – Debbie Miller
“Because some children thrive in our classrooms, we are likely to conclude that those who do not thrive must have something wrong with them. We might dismiss them as learning disabled, lazy, or willfully defiant” (p. 37) Learning To Trust –Marilyn Watson.
“Trust needs to be mutual. If we’re asking children thoughtfully consider the thinking of others, we must expect no less from ourselves (p. 20) Reading with Meaning – Debbie Miller
“If we expect big things from our children, we must expect big things from ourselves too” (p. 21) Reading with Meaning – Debbie Miller
“There are many effective ways to teach children and live our lives. No one has a patent on the truth. Find yours. Read. Reflect. Think about what you already know about good teaching and how it fits with new learning. Read some more. Think about the implications for your classroom. Collaborate with colleagues. Try new things and spend time defining our beliefs and aligning your practices. Once you’ve found what’s true for you, stand up for what you know is right. Live it every day and be confident and clear about why you believe as you do. People will listen.” (p. 7) Reading with Meaning – Debbie Miller
Background
Expert in Early Childhood Education, Coaching
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