Lizbeth Alfaro
North Carolina Teacher of the Year
Lyle Creek Elementary, Conover, NC
Grades 1 through 6, All subjects

My teaching philosophy
I believe that teaching is a special calling for those who want to shape the lives of our nation’s future leaders. Teaching is not just sharing knowledge, but sharing values, forming character, guiding children, and supporting their academic and ethical development. Teaching is not just about books and homework, but about individuals with special needs, feelings, aspirations, and talents.

Teaching is helping students learn by themselves, showing them where and how one can find information, and demonstrating how to solve problems. Teaching is helping our students discover and develop their own talents.

As a teacher, it is my job to get to know my students to the best of my ability. I have to understand their needs, aspirations, strengths and weaknesses in order reach out to them. I need to identify with them first. I like to build a relationship of respect and friendship because I want my students to know they can trust me in any situation and count on me to help them.

As a teacher, it is my responsibility to find different ways to help students learn. I can never give up on any student. I know some children take more time to learn or require different approaches to succeed, but they can all make progress. My job is to find out what is the best way for them to learn. One of my greatest rewards in teaching is to see a big smile on a student’s face because he finally understands the content or because he is able do something he could not do before.

My philosophy in action
My beliefs about teaching are reflected in my personal teaching style. In order to form character and develop positive values in my students, I use books that teach us more than reading. For example, I like to read biographies of people like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Abraham Lincoln to inspire my students to follow in their footsteps.

To help my students learn how to be metacognitive, I assign them projects and show them where to find the resources and the information they need. Research is an integral part of the thinking and learning process in my classroom. I also engage my students in active learning experiences by means of hands-on activities (cutting, pasting, drawing, building, tasting, etc) and cooperative learning strategies. I like to try new teaching strategies and be creative when it comes to teaching new concepts. I usually play instructional games; sing songs, role play, cook, or dance in class in order to make the content come to life. I like to see my students actively participating in class and highly motivated to learn. I also challenge my students to connect what they learn in my class with what they already know, making associations, analogies, comparisons, etc. I know that if they are engaged, they are learning and behavior problems are minimized.

I not only care about the content I have to teach, but also about my students as individuals. I always keep their needs in mind and try to help them find solutions to their problems. I teach my students values and positive character traits such as honesty, responsibility, trustworthiness, teamwork, and respect. I take time to listen to them and I build a positive relationship with them.
I also endorse my student’s different cultural backgrounds and make them feel proud of their heritage by encouraging them to share aspects of their native culture and language. They know they are welcome in my class and they are respected and appreciated for whom they are. I always strive to promote an appreciation for cultural diversity.

I am always praising my students and telling them how capable they are! They know I believe in them. I always put positive phrases in their minds to boost their self-esteem because I know that to be able to achieve something; you first have to believe you can do it. I help my students set short and long term goals and I allow them to constantly revisit their goals to stay focused and monitor their accomplishments.

My greatest teaching accomplishment
Some of my greatest professional accomplishments include achieving National Board Certification, becoming North Carolina Teacher of the Year and receiving the third place in the Unsung Heroes Award, as one of the most innovative educators in the nation. Another accomplishment consists of becoming a trainer with Teacher Academy. Thus, I conduct workshops for different school systems, colleges and universities on English as a Second Language strategies, diversity in the classroom and culture. I like to help new teachers as they encounter students with different languages and cultures in their classrooms. I teach workshops in which I share my personal experience as an ESL student and an ESL teacher. I like to be a resource to other teachers.

Perhaps, one of my greatest accomplishments dates back to 2002, when I created an evening family learning program (Partners in Print) to teach parents as well as children reading and math strategies. I have purchased bilingual books for our school library (through a grant I wrote) for parents and children to be able to enjoy reading together. I share a new reading strategy every time we meet; then parents and children practice it with our bilingual books. They are highly motivated to come to our monthly meetings and learn about reading and math together. During the last three years, Partners in Print has proven to be a very successful program in teaching parents what their children need to learn and how to help them at home, even in their native language. Latino parents are now taking an active role in their children’s education. Because of this program, Hispanic children and parents have developed a love for reading and look forward to coming to our meetings with great excitement and anticipation. Partners in Print has given Latino children a new boost of self-confidence, pride in their cultural roots and motivation to achieve in school

Teachers must have working conditions that allow them to do their jobs. One of those conditions is adequate time for planning, collaborating with colleagues, and participating in professional development. Most elementary teachers have a very short planning time, about thirty minutes a day, to prepare for their lessons, gather materials, grade papers, meet with parents, etc. Thus, most teachers have to take a big load of work home. Furthermore, teachers also have to attend several meetings (Staff development, parent conferences, PTO meetings, etc) after school or in the evenings.

In many occasions, the lack of time is the reason for teachers to become burned out in the profession and/or become mediocre teachers. There is not enough time to plan and prepare all the materials for outstanding, hands-on, enriching lessons. Thus, teachers have to rely on a worksheet or a common textbook. They are forced to use a traditional teaching method that calls for a simple lecture because they do not have the time to research and create innovative teaching activities.

Furthermore, teachers never have the time to collaborate with other colleagues because they are always so busy in their own classrooms. Teachers could learn from each other if they had the time to share ideas, brainstorm for solutions to their problems, observe each other, and help each other.

Ways to resolve this issue
I believe that State Boards of Education, educational leaders, and all stakeholders, should find ways to ensure that every teacher has a least one hour of planning time during the school day. That hour needs to be protected in their schedules so they can do their individual planning, grading, and collaborating with other colleagues. Staff meetings and parent conferences could be scheduled after school if necessary but should be limited to one or two a week. Teachers should also be released of their teaching duties in order to attend professional development during the school day, and not after school, when you are mentally and physically exhausted.

One thought to inspire teachers to succeed
In order to become an outstanding educator, one must keep on learning. Just like someone said, ‘The best teachers are students who never stop learning.” Many teachers become burned out in the profession because they are always doing the same thing in the same way, year after year. Some might even leave the profession, when instead of changing jobs, they should change the way they do the job. But when you learn new strategies, when you keep abreast of new ideas in education and you try them in your classroom, you bring the excitement of the novelty. Remember what Richard Henry Dann said, “If you dare to teach, you must never cease to learn.”

One lesson every student should learn
Students need to believe in education. They need to understand that education is the key that will open the door to many opportunities. School is the way to become free from the bondage of poverty and ignorance. Education is a gift, a privilege, an honor, a benefit, an advantage. You don’t want to face the future without it. Education is the avenue that leads to success.

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