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Bryton Bogart
EDUC 220
Fall 2018
STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS 2
Informed Beliefs
determine my beliefs. In this essay, I will present my beliefs regarding teaching, students, and
the ability for students to learn. The sources that I used to build my beliefs are the text book
Child, Family, School, Community: Socialization and Support (Berns, 2016), the College of
Western Idaho Library resources, and other scholarly articles and journals. I have also used my
previous knowledge from education classes that have helped me to develop my beliefs. I will
explain and inform my belief of the ability of students to learn, teacher expectations, student’s
social ecology theory, cultural diversity instruction, and the curriculum for all learners.
I believe that all students have the right to learn. Regardless of their disability status, race,
gender, or ethnicity a student can learn in the education system. Students ability to learn is
determined by the effectiveness of a teacher. With an effective teacher, a child can expand their
minds to achieve greatness. A child’s learning ability is shown through their senses: sight, touch,
smell, taste, and feeling. If a teacher can meet the needs of each of a student’s senses, they are
going to have more of an understanding to increase their learning ability. A teacher has the
responsibility to apply their lesson plans and to manipulate the curriculum in the best way that
I want all my students to understand that learning is not a difficult task. I know that
learning can seem detrimental sometimes towards students, but it isn’t the learning itself that is
difficult, it’s just the way that it is being taught. I feel that if I can accommodate for what my
students need in the classroom, they will be able to learn in a way that they feel is the most
comfortable. I know that when students are comfortable, they are more likely to communicate
STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS 3
their learning needs with me as a teacher. I want my students to have communication with me so
that I can engage with them in their learning while also being their leader and gaining the respect
There are many ways to manage a classroom. I want my students to respect me enough to
confront me. I want my students to be able to come to me for ideas and comments, but I want
them to be able to understand that I am still a respected figure in the classroom and I should be
treated as such. I will have rules and disciplines that will help me to gain a respect from my
students. I know that if I place too many rules and disciplines the students won’t respect me, but
if I put enough in place and I stick to them, eventually my students will follow the rules that I
comfortable so that they want to learn. According to Berns (2016), “The political ideology of
society is communicated to the child through textbooks and how each subject is taught.” (p. 54).
I think that students learn best when they are comfortable, and they can express their thoughts
and ideas openly. If the child is being taught in an appropriate way, they can understand society
Teacher’s Expectations
The expectations that a teacher has on a student can affect a student’s ability to learn. If a
teacher doesn’t expect anything from a student, then that student doesn’t feel as if they must
achieve much and therefore won’t participate to the fullest ability that they can in classroom
engagements. Berns (2016) says in the textbook, teachers can receive information on their
students before class begins, giving the teachers automatic knowledge of what the student could
be like (p. 245). This could be a hazard because it allows presumptuous attributes to be placed on
the student without the student even meeting the teacher. These presumptuous attitudes change
STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS 4
the perception on what student succession should be. “Perception is a biological construct that
involves interpretation of stimuli from the brain (Berns, 2016, p. 241). Teachers could change
their perceptions based on the student’s previous years in both positive and negative ways. For
example, in previous years a student could be excelling in most of their classwork, but this year
in a certain teacher’s classroom they tend to be falling behind. The current teacher already had
the assumption that the student was going to achieve greatness and therefore the teacher feels as
if there is nothing wrong with her teaching techniques. In a recent study, it was shown that
teachers expectations and tended to change when they saw the perceptions of their student and
their attributes to shape their expectations (Timmermans, 2016). This idea gives the teacher false
expectations towards her students learning causing a problem to arise in the student’s ability to
With student potential, each student also has goals that are set apart for them from many
different aspects. An educational goal is a statement that is formulated to work best towards the
educational needs of a student usually containing skills or attributes that need to be met to
achieve the goal (Simon Fraser University, 2009). Educational goals are important for any
educator or student working in the educational system. An educational goal can range from
achieving a better grade or to learning a new concept. I think that having educational goals are
important as a teacher and for students to have these goals. These are important to set the
standards and goals for the classroom so that the students can have the goal in mind. In my future
classrooms, I want to have a main goal for the year as a classroom and have each of my students
(Berns, 2016, p. 5). In an ecology, there are many different systems that are involved. These
different systems are called microsystems. A microsystem is the activities and relationships with
significant others by a developing person in a small setting such as, family, peer group, or
community (Berns, 2016, p. 21). Student ecology is the ecological systems that intertwine with
the student. I think that the student’s ecology and learning should connect in a way that best
benefits the student and their learning. As a teacher, I think that it is important to integrate
different microsystems in an appropriate way that is fashioned towards the student and each
system. This can be difficult, but like anything in education it can take practice to try and
understand the dynamics of the ecology. The different microsystems together make up the
Families, cultures, and communities all have a different impact on a student’s learning.
For example, when students have different home lives they are affected differently in the
happen in a student’s life. The circumstances can make the differences in how the student learns.
Community ecology is the psychological and practical relationships between humans and their
social, as well as physical, environment (Berns, 2016, p. 375). Community ecology has an
influence on the student’s learning because of the constant environments that they are in. When a
student is in a supporting community, the student is more likely to succeed in their educational
As a teacher, I will need to know the backgrounds of each of my students. I will be able
to acknowledge their backgrounds and respect them as much as I expect them to respect me as a
STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS 6
teacher. Cultural diversity has an influence on the school through macrosystems. A macrosystem
is the society and subculture to which the developing person belongs, with a reference to the
belief systems, lifestyles, patterns of social interaction, and life changes (Berns, 2016, p. 25). A
macrosystem can influence the life histories and student’s backgrounds because of the outside
society that each student belongs to. In the aspect of schooling, all macrosystems affect how a
school system comes together. The political aspects, family economics, religion, and
science/technology are all affecting factors in the microsystems that affect schools. As a teacher,
I will need to ensure that I am fully aware of what is going on in the student’s life to help them
learn appropriately. I know that I can also use different experiences to relate to the students and
help them connect with different concepts that they may be learning. I hope that I can have a
A part of a students macrosystem is the different media that children are introduced to.
Though the community has an influence on a student learning, the mass media that is integrated
into a student’s life is just as life altering. Mass media refers to the form of communication in
which large audiences quickly receive a given message via an impersonal medium between the
sender and the receiver (Berns, 2016, p. 331). The effects of mass media can change the cultural
aspects of the classroom and how its ran. It can also contribute to how and what a student will
learn in and out of the classroom. The social cognitive theory of mass media is the idea that
media contributes to children’s learning by enabling them to observe role models that behave on
Cultural pluralism and cultural assimilation are the different socialization macrosystems
that come together including the melting pot. Cultural pluralism is the mutual appreciation and
beliefs, and lifestyles (Berns, 2016, p. 212). Cultural assimilation is the process where a minority
cultural group takes on the characteristics of the majority cultural group (Berns, 2016, p. 212).
The difference between the two is the process by which each happen. In pluralism, there are
small groups of cultures that maintain identities while still staying involved in the larger cultural
society within reason and respect for the majority culture. In assimilation, the process is about
losing control of the cultural identity because of the culture of the majority.
As a teacher, I know that the delivery and planning of my lessons is an important aspect
of being a teacher. I will need to be able to adjust what my teaching and assessment materials are
based on each needs of my students. In the future, I hope that I will be able to have “back-up”
plans to any situation in my teaching. I know that if I am more planned, it’s better than being
unprepared. I think that by having this open attitude and preparing for multiple situations, I will
be able to plan when need be. I know that through practice and time, I can to see if my lessons
a teacher to also understand that there needs to be constant adjustment in the classroom because
won’t be clear and concise directions when I assess a student. I want my students to be able to
understand the assessments because I taught them thoroughly and correctly. I don’t think that
students should need to worry that they didn’t understand the instructions for the assessment and
they aren’t going to succeed because I didn’t clarify enough in my direct instruction.
STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS 8
From student assessments, I know that I will be able to see improvement on what he/she
is understanding in my classroom. At the beginning of each year, I want the students to have an
educational goal that they set for themselves that they can physically put together. This will
engage the students to try and meet that goal which will bring improvement. I can also tell if a
student has improved if I am able to move on in my lessons and if each student is understanding
the topic, I will be able to see the improvement in how well they learned the curriculum.
Depending on the student, I will provide the appropriate attention to ensure that they are
understanding and following along with what is being taught. I know that each student is unique
when learning, so I feel that if I know my students better and understand their learnings, I will be
able to see where the student improved from their original level of learning. It is under the
responsibility of the teacher to ensure that all their students are improving in an appropriate way
Conclusion
In conclusion, I would like to reiterate the idea that all students have the right to learn and
it is under the responsibilities of a good teacher. I know that with practice and hard work, I can
be that good teacher for a student. With the resources that I have been provided, I have been able
to formulate beliefs and ideas that are unique to my personality when it comes to teaching and
education. I have knowledge from the textbook, previous education classes, and personal
experiences that have led to me have the opinions that I have stated previously. The beliefs and
ideas that have been stated are what I believe is what it takes to make an impact in the diverse
world of education. From my beliefs, I know that I will be able to be the teacher that makes a
change in the education of a student, therefore making a change in the outlook of the world.
STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS 9
References
Berns, R. (2016). Child, family, school, community: socialization and support. Stamford, CT:
Cengage Learning.
http://www.sfu.ca/educationalgoals/define-educational-goals/
Timmermans, A. C., de Boer, H., & van der Werf, M. P. C. (2016). An investigation of the
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