My Philosophy As an educator, I believe that creating the best atmosphere for acquiring the skills and knowledge needed to provide opportunities for education is the least we can do to ensure the successful futures of our children and of ourselves. We are to be held responsible as adults, parents, and teachers to give each child the necessary tools to succeed and build upon as they continue to grow and examine the world around them. Cultivating the mastery of language arts into a child from an early age as a source of self expression and confidence is of the utmost importance as it remains a crucial component of success. I believe that children learn best through a combination of maturation and student-centered learning. Upon arrival to the secondary stage of education, without a solid combination of a child being able and ready to comprehend things being presented to them to learn, the objective will not be processed properly and absorbed. A child cannot effectively learn without being presented the lessons in such a manner that best utilizes their learning style. Mustafa, Chiew, & Rinong (2009) at University of Malaysia Sarawak quote J.M. Reid, “Diversity in teaching and learning styles… have pointed out students learn better when instructional strategies match their preferred learning styles (p.122).” It’s through this delicate balance that the child will grasp concepts, make connections, and apply those things in the future. Through student-centered pedagogy, I can better identify the strengths of each child and capitalize on those. Students take an active role in their learning through various methods to include peer guided discussion groups, class initiated goals and team presentations. At the beginning my role would be to facilitate choices in readings and writing but really to encourage their own ideas and, as they become more confident within their discussion groups, help them less with preliminary topics and focus more on structuring their writing in complete statements and organization. While meeting TEKS and encouraging creative expression they will acquire the building blocks of language and grow confident in their ideas and the way they communicate them through writing. I want their