Susan Illgen
Oklahoma Teacher of the Year
Grove Lower Elementary, Grove, OK
Kindergarten, General

My teaching philosophy
Teachers bring HOPE, a disciplined commitment, to bettering the education of our nation’s children. HOPE is an acronym for what I believe to be the keys to a successful learning environment: Happy classrooms, Opportunities for every child to succeed, Positive role models, and Expectations that stretch student learning.

Every child deserves a joyful classroom. When children are free to laugh and communicate in their classroom, they readily accept new challenges and ideas. Laughing classrooms are learning classrooms. A teacher’s obligation is to create a learning environment that is free of inappropriate anxiety and models the character traits that we expect of our children. The function of each classroom, a miniature society of sorts, builds a student’s knowledge about how society works. Happy classrooms don’t just happen: they are carefully planned and orchestrated through deep commitment on the part of the teacher.

Every child deserves the opportunity to succeed regardless of culture, socioeconomic demands, gender, family structure, or ability. We must provide developmentally appropriate, brain-based teaching, incorporating teaching methods that match each student’s learning style. We must become more flexible about how we assess students’ learning, giving them opportunity to show us what they know in a way that correlates with their abilities.

Every child deserves a positive role model. Most teachers would agree that students who do well in school have adults who have invested in their education and personal interests. Although for some children this need is fulfilled by the family structure, in many cases this responsibility lies in the hands of the teacher. We must be willing to spend time outside the school day, investing in our students’ lives and actively networking parents and community to serve as positive role models who coordinate and facilitate worthwhile educational programs and projects.

Every child deserves high expectations. Education’s journey is not always vertical. By working in a horizontal fashion, we can stretch our students through in-depth studies of interest, expansive project work, and year-long investigations with careful goal setting and curriculum flexibility. By broadening our student’s critical thinking skills, rather than focusing on meaningless rote content, we provide lifelong tools for learning which will enhance any discipline. Expectations, whether high or low, will be met by children.

If we want to better our nation’s educational system, we must unite as community members, parents, and educators toward one goal, giving our children HOPE. Happy classrooms, opportunities for success, positive role models, and expectations that stretch student’s learning are the keys critical to making it happen.

My philosophy in action
Students are the center of the educational process. When I consider a student, I consider his interests, his culture, his learning styles, and his talents. I place great emphasis on developing a strong bond with my students throughout the year by making myself readily available, greeting each student with a smile every day, and incorporating their interests in my teaching. I believe it is essential that a teacher has strong relational skills and a love for children. I want my students to have positive feelings toward their learning environment because HOPE in the classroom maximizes instruction.

Laughing classrooms are learning classrooms. Laughing facilitates healthy relationships and enhances brain function. This allows my students to participate with greater concentration and to release tensions that are inevitable for children in today’s society. I want my students to feel valued so I plan exciting lessons that are built on their strengths and interests, yet still challenge them toward new growth. There are many opportunities throughout the day for my students to communicate with one another because I plan a variety of instructional groups and cooperative learning projects. The foundation of an effective classroom is built on the premise that learning is fun, both for the students and the teacher.

Outstanding teachers have direction and bearing. Because I know my students well, I am keenly aware of their learning needs. My personal goals for each student are coupled with state and national standards and form the basis through which I write and utilize curriculum. I draw upon my experiences with previous classes to build a repertoire of instructional units that are based on students’ interests and are firmly grounded in our state’s core curriculum standards. These units have high, yet achievable, expectations for each learner. I am cautious, however, to be flexible, never allowing goals to replace students as the center of the educational process. Students know when a teacher’s interest is displaced. Making my students feel important frames their learning and is integral to their achieving success in my classroom. HOPE is extended through consistent opportunities for success.

Making meaningful connections in learning provides a natural integration of disciplines. With no doubt it takes extra time to interrelate district curriculum, state objectives, and students’ interests into workable units, but the benefits of integration are worth it! Students learn at a higher rate. Because they have a glimpse of the “big picture,” they gain a better handle on the purpose of their education. Meeting the demands of each discipline requires creativity and flexibility. For example, during our Japanese unit, our kindergarten students work with tangrams (math), experiment with copying and tracing Japanese calligraphy (fine motor), observe guest speakers who share about bonsai trees (science), participate in fan dancing (art, gross motor), enjoy Japanese cooking (all disciplines), learn about puppetry (language, art), and observe judo (gross motor). Students role play Japanese home life with authentic Japanese costumes, play food, and Japanese furniture. They practice Japanese customs by learning basic salutations and behavior. They experience the beauty of Japanese architecture as they build an Imperial palace and homes with our Japanese block set. Japanese music offers an opportunity to compare and contrast with the American art form, Jazz, which we learn about early in the year. Children also use science observation skills as they observe rice in a variety of forms. Integration also allows for the community to be involved in our learning. Parents and community members serve as positive role models when they demonstrate their areas of expertise. As a result, our students are better able to make tangible connections between what they are learning and real life.

Effective teachers know when they have succeeded. It is easy to see progress when every student is engaging in learning, communicating and challenging their ideas. By utilizing every moment as an opportunity to learn, I am able to monitor my student’s growth in a variety of situations, allowing for better perspective than through skills testing alone. The structure of my classroom is predictable and orderly. However, classroom routines are student led, transition times are alive and focused, and classroom responsibilities lie in the hands of the students, not the teacher. The results of a well-structured classroom and a child-friendly environment make it easy to evaluate my students as well as my own effectiveness.

I feel rewarded when parents and the community become involved in our learning. It is exciting to have community members ask if they can be a part of my next project or program. I enjoy sharing with others what we are learning because it creates a sense of belonging and significance for all of us. I also feel rewarded when I see that same type of enthusiastic response from my students as we approach new inquiries and projects.Students initiating natural connections from one experience to another, or from one lesson to another, is the epitome of education and the fulfillment of the HOPE we wish to bring that students enthusiastically accept challenge and respond to it naturally and whole-heartedly.

My greatest teaching accomplishment
Accolades, honors, and awards fade with time. Learning is forever. My greatest accomplishments lie in the minds of young children who have embraced the challenges I set before them, and willingly overcame their own personal difficulties to achieve more than they ever dreamed.

The most critical issues facing educators today
Oklahoma may have found the key to closing the achievement gap. For years, students of diversity and poor socioeconomic status have been the victim of lower school performance. Billions of dollars have been spent on remediation, special service programs, and transitional programs. The achievement gap is costly to our nation, and detrimental to the children who fall victim to it. Research is now clearly showing what early childhood educators have seen first hand and have known in their hearts for a long time. Accessible, high quality, free preschool education is the critical factor for not only a student’s educational success, but also their success as a contributing member in our society.

Early education is an important investment, but unfortunately too few children have access to a quality, public, pre-kindergarten program. Oklahoma is one of only three states that offer a free, voluntary preschool program to all students in participating school districts (which now amounts to 94 percent of Oklahoma’s school districts). One of the major reasons that most states will not invest in four-year-old programs relates directly back to costs. When cost is a deterrent, states are disregarding the long term benefits as well as the money saved in closing the achievement gap and raising the education level of all. Also, the public is unaware of the benefits of a quality preschool program, and therefore are not demanding it as voters. They are, however, demanding it as parents.

The National Institute for Early Education Research, The Foundation for Child Development, and the Pew Charitable Trusts funded efforts for Georgetown University to research the effect Oklahoma pre-kindergarten programs had in preparing students for school. A Tulsa district school was chosen for its size, diversity, and accessibility to testing data. Georgetown University researchers analyzed data for 1,282 four year olds and 2,276 five year olds who began preschool or kindergarten in September of 2001. The results were astounding. Children experienced a 16 percent improvement in test scores in contrast to children not participating in a pre-kindergarten program. Poorer students gained 26 percent. Hispanic students gained 54 percent. Cognitive development of all students improved 17.2 percent, while language skills increased 16.5 percent. Finally, Oklahoma’s early childhood educators had quantifiable proof that preschool education levels the playing ground for diverse learners.

Ways to resolve this issue
My own personal experiences as a kindergarten teacher validate the same things research is telling us. Students who have benefited from our preschool program have higher cognitive skills, have more confidence as learners, and are typically more developed socially and with self-help skills. Confidence is critical in the classroom. Having the ground work for self-confidence already laid provides kindergarten teachers with more time to build literacy skills and problem solving skills. It is a rare student that has been through our preschool program who is not reading at the end of kindergarten.

Some factors to Oklahoma’s success with its public pre-kindergarten programs can be attributed to our state’s high expectations for teaching standards and qualifications, as well as its expectations for appropriate learning environments. Oklahoma’s early childhood educators are required to hold a certificate, which includes a bachelor’s degree and certification examinations in their subject area. Preschool classrooms are limited to 20 students, with a teacher/student ratio of 1:10. The learning environment is assured as developmentally appropriate through state standards, professional development and training, and family involvement. Our primary goal as educators is to instill a love for learning. In Oklahoma’s efforts to provide both a quality and developmentally appropriate preschool program, they are ensuring that instruction at this early level meets the needs of young learners. Another key factor to Oklahoma’s success with preschool education is accessibility. More than half of Oklahoma’s students qualify for free or reduced lunch, and one in five children live in poverty. Since kindergarten is open to all students, it just made sense to make pre-kindergarten programs equally as accessible.

Early education increases skills and knowledge, high school graduation rates and college attendance, as well as skilled employment and earnings. It reduces grade repetition and special education, crime and delinquency, lessens welfare dependency, and decreases health care costs and mortality. Pre-kindergarten programs also provide an opportunity for developmental screening and referrals for early intervention. From an economics perspective, it is clear the benefits from intensive early childhood programs to tax payers far exceed the cost of maintaining such programs. In addition, Oklahoma citizens are flocking to districts that offer full day pre-kindergarten programs.

The time is now. Early education is a good investment that will reap rewards for years to come. It is much like preventative medical care. We can prevent a world of problems by heading them off before they start. Pre-kindergarten programs will do just that; give us an early starting line, before the hurdles of poverty, diversity, and accessibility become an issue. During a student’s most formative years, they will be given the strength, stamina, and skills to complete the race all the way to the finish line.

One thought to inspire teachers to succeed
Teachers change the world, one child at a time. We do not have the insight or power to choose the children who we want to succeed. We must treat every child as if they are the next great world leader and train them as such.

One lesson every student should learn
With hard work, quality of character, and dedication, any child can succeed.

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