Dawn Heterick Werner
Tennessee Teacher of the Year
Fairmount Elementary School, Bluff City
Grade K-6, All Subjects

My teaching philosophy
Preparing students today for their tomorrow is preparing society for its future. I work in a partnership with parents to ensure that their children will live in a better world. My philosophy is demonstrated with patience for individual learning styles, kind but firm discipline, caring for each student on a personal level, willingness to help and re-explain concepts, excitement for each success, and understanding when a child has a problem. By instilling responsibility, modeling appropriate behaviors, and providing basic learning opportunities, I provide the children in my classroom with a basis for growing and being a productive part of their world.

I will never give up on a child. Each child will learn something different in my classroom; it will be appropriate to his/her place and his/her development. I know with patience they will learn. By being a nurturing teacher, my students live for seven hours in an inviting, comfortable, warm, secure, stimulating, and safe learning environment. This environment is created by my caring for the student as a whole, not just for his/her academic achievements. I believe that when children know and feel that someone cares, they in turn care.

My philosophy in action
To promote my nurturing beliefs, I have set up my room to provide an inviting environment that is conducive to learning. I try to ensure a successful moment for every child, each day. In my daily plans, I try to incorporate a variety of activities to stimulate each child’s learning mode. Responsibility is instilled through classroom jobs, making choices, accepting consequences for behavior, and accountability for individual learning.

The children in my classroom are taught as individuals with individual needs. I use all the resources available to me. These include other teachers, administrators, parents, doctors, magazines, and publications to ensure these individual’s needs are met. I keep up-to-date on the latest issues so that my students are being reached by every possible means. I am willing to adapt and change methods and teaching styles to enable success for the children in my classroom.

My greatest teaching accomplishment
The greatest accomplishment in my career comes from students, parents, and peers. When a fellow teacher asks me for advice, or an administrator asks me to mentor new and student teachers, I feel confident in my professional skills. When a parent requests me as a teacher for a sibling because they were impressed with my capabilities with their first or second child, I feel proud of my teaching skills. When a student remembers me many years later and nominates me for “Who’s Who in Teaching”, I know I have touched a life forever. And, isn’t that what teachers do? “To teach is to touch a life forever.”

The most critical issues facing educators today
Some major public education issues today are: utilization of technology in instruction, site-based decision making, equity in funding school operations, equity in funding capital projects, student preparation for the workplace, services for special populations, educator preparation and licensure, preschool and early childhood education, assessment of student progress, safe environment for learning, adult learning, and parent involvement. However, the apparent and most pressing issue is the No Child Left Behind legislation, and the necessity to close student achievement gaps.

Ways to resolve this issue
Raising student achievement will not be quick or easy; however, it is attainable. Obviously, factors outside the school have some impact on achievement, but aside from that, there are other ways to improve achievement. First, start early; begin with pre-school and early childhood education as the solid foundation for future learning. Building on that foundation, schools need to focus on reading and math, invest in teachers, shrink the size of the classes, increase the amount of time spent learning, set goals and assess student progress, support professional development, and adopt a whole school (system) curriculum.

One thought to inspire teachers to succeed
“Good teachers are those who know how little they know.” Verdi One

One lesson every student should learn
Without personal honesty, integrity and individual responsibility, an individual’s goals will neither be meaningful or achievable.

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