Hello!
My name is Danelle Addison. I am excited to be teaching first grade at John T. Waugh. I want to share a little bit about myself. I live in Angola with my husband, Scott and two daughters Alexis (22) and Jacey (18). I grew up in Angola and I am proud to say that I, along with my husband and daughters are alumni of Lake Shore Central.
I have been teaching at Lake Shore for the past 11 years. Before that I worked as the director/teacher of Community Nursery School in the Village of Angola.
I just wanted to share with you the philosophy of my first grade classroom. As a teacher, I believe it is my job to ignite a desire to learn into every individual who enters my classroom and to support each student’s learning in any way possible. One of the most important things a teacher can instill in a child is that learning is never finished. To me, the end of a lesson does not signify the closing of a book on a particular subject, but instead I see each lesson as an introduction to the potential for further learning. As a teacher, one of the most important things I can do is inspire curiosity in my students.
I realize that children vary greatly in interests and experience, and thus a “one size fits all” approach to teaching is simply not good enough. In order to produce lifelong learners who seek to expand their knowledge inside and outside of the classroom, I will supply students with instruction that is individualized to fit the needs and interests of the individual and allows students to expand their knowledge and commitment to learning. Individualizing the learning process will provide each student with the intrinsic motivation they need to take on a lifetime of learning.
Just as learning is a process that can occur at any time, in any place, teaching is also a process that can and should exceed the limits of the classroom walls. Everywhere there is an interaction there can be a teaching moment. I hope to capitalize on each and every teaching moment I am presented with, both in my classroom and in the outside world. Whether on the playground or in the lunch line, lessons can be taught about academic and non-academic subjects that will enhance our students’ mental, social, and emotional capacities as learners. As an educator, we are responsible for helping our students achieve more than just academic standards; we are also given the task of helping our students develop social and emotional skills. Although these are skills that are sometimes difficult to plan lessons around, by being attentive to the many things that are occurring in the daily lives of each of our students, we can find many opportunities to teach character traits and social-emotional skills that would otherwise go untaught. Some of the best lessons are those that are not planned for, but instead occur with natural interactions with our students, and thus it is important that we utilize every moment we are given with our students to guide and aid our students in the process of developing as a student and as a responsible individual.
Teaching is a reciprocal process; for every piece of knowledge that I can share with a student, there is an equally important piece of knowledge that the student can share with me. As a teacher, I know that I do not have the answers, nor do I ever hope to find all the answers. With each student comes a whole new world of knowledge and experiences that can be shared and learned by all. In my classroom, I hope that every student will come to see themselves as teachers as well as learners. As my students continually learn and grow, I hope to continue on my own path of learning as well. My students are my greatest tool in growing as a professional in addition to as a person.
