My Teaching Philosophy - by Duren

I have always loved to learn.  I want to create an environment where students can gain a passion for learning in whatever capacity they choose.  I want to teach my students general life skills mixed with analytical thinking that will help them succeed in the real world.  I am going to allow my students the freedom to think for themselves and arrive at various answers in whatever means necessary.  I plan on teaching History and PE.  I think it is absolutely crucial for students to learn from the past and be able to analyze what has happened so they can understand why the world functions the way it does today.  I am also going to teach PE.  I have always loves sport and exercise.  I pride myself on being physically fit and living a healthy lifestyle.  I feel that it is necessary that I teach my students how important physical activity is and the important role it plays in their lives.  Most importantly, I want my students to gain a love of knowledge.  Life is a never-ending learning opportunity.  Therefore, I want my students to gain a passion for knowledge and gain the skills they need to live a happy and productive life.  

--Duren

My Teaching Philosophy

While I am not a teacher with my own classroom at this time, I have a vision of the teacher I want to be and the classroom I want to have. I understand that it is a process that will evolve over time and probably never be perfect, because I will always be working on making it better. From the limited time I have observed in classrooms I know that I want to have an open, save environment. I want my students to feel safe and mutual respect for one another as well as me as their teacher.  I definitively have an essentialism type management stance however, I strive to become more of a constructivist. I really would like my students to have a say on what goes on in the classroom, our classroom. Students need a safe environment where they can be comfortable. Developing rules and routines with them can help them to feel some ownership in the classroom, which I feel is important. I want to help my students develop a love of learning and to desire knowledge. I want my students to learn what they need to be a successful member of society. This is what I will strive for when I am a teacher.

Crafts

Out with the old...

Well, the Blazer is gone. We were able to use it to get the government's cash for clunker incentive. We had been talking about a new car for a while but didn't want to jump into anything. The best car we had was the Jetta and it has over 126,000 miles on it. When we found that the blazer would qualify we decided to look a little closer. We knew that we could never sell it for anything and it needed to be registered so it was a good time to look.

We ended up getting a brand new 2009 Hyundai Elantra. We really like it. I never thought I would be able to have a brand new car but the price was right and it has an awesome warranty so I feel like it was the best buy.

We have a lawn ! !

I am so excited. Our house now feels complete. We have a lawn. Well, I'm a little slow with blogging, we have had it for a few weeks now but Duren was able to mow the lawn last week! It was great. I know mowing the lawn will become a chore but it was fun to mow our lawn for the first time. IT LOOKS GREAT!!

4th of July

OK, so I really am trying to be better at blogging. I like to have pictures for my posts but I am even worse at taking pictures. I didn't even have my camera with me for the 4th of July weekend but I will tell you about it anyways.
Duren and I drove down to Oak City near Delta to spend the weekend with our friends. We drove down after Duren got off work on Friday. It was a nice drive. Traffic wasn't too bad however there were so many sections of I-15 that had "road construction" so we had to go 55 MPH. That was really frustrating because there was no work going on. I realize that they wanted the weekend off too and they didn't want to disrupt traffic but I wanted to go FASTER!! Oh well. We made it there just before 6 pm and we went on a tour of the city. It is a cute little town where everyone waves and everyone knows you.
After the tour we grilled some hamburgers and we had some fresh fruit. DELICIOUS!! After dinner we went up the canyon for a drive. It was so pretty up there, but very busy with campers.
When we got back we played Uno Attack. I have never played it but I liked it. I don't think Duren liked it but that may have had something to do with him not winning. :)
Then we got ready for bed. Duren and I are usually on the ball with packing but we must have been super excited because we forgot almost everything. All we brought were snacks and clothes. We forgot a lot of things but the most important thing we forgot was our air mattress and sleeping bags and pillows!!! I cant believe we forgot that. Oh well, our friends were able to equip us with the necessary things.
The next morning was the parade in Delta. We all got up and got ready and then drove to Delta. We pulled up and the parade had already started!! We had been told the wrong time. Oh well. We decided to just park and go watch the rest. We were walking up to the road and there were some people already there. The closer I got to them the more they looked familiar. I hurried ahead of our group to get a better look. Wouldn't you know it, it was my Grandma from Nephi and my aunt and uncle from delta and their kids and grandkids!!! You should have seen their faces when they saw me there!! It was great! It brought back a lot of childhood memories. I remember when I was a kid we would go to Delta for the 4th with my family. The first Demo Derby I ever saw was on the 4th in Delta. Good times.

Anyways, back to our weekend. After the parade we went back to Oak City. We were invited over to a family friend's house for a BBQ. It was great. We had ribs. DELICIOUS. Duren and I didn't even know these people but they sure made us feel welcome.
After lunch settled we noticed that it was super HOT. We decided it wasn't the 4th of July without some sort of water fun so we decided to run through the sprinklers. I held the baby while Duren and our friends set up the sprinklers. I was really impressed. We only found one sprinkler and one sprayer for watering flowers. We set the sprinkler on the ground and draped the hose with the flower sprayer over the basketball hoop. It was great. I loved seeing everyone playing, running around and of course, sitting on the sprinkler. I'm sure the neighbors thought we were insane but that's OK.
After that we decided to go inside and play some more uno attack. We were trying to give Duren a chance to win. After one hand (which he didn't win) he decided to change games. We played Phase 10. Amazingly we actually finished all 10 phases. I have never seen this done before. It was great. Guess who won... DUREN!! It was great
Then it was dinner time. We were going to have a big breakfast that morning with blueberry waffles with strawberries on top for red, white and blue but we were running late so we just had cereal so we decided to make our breakfast for dinner. It was perfect. I love breakfast foods.
After dinner we drove back to Delta to watch the fireworks. First we wanted Ice Cream so we had to track some of that down. The Fireworks were great. I love fireworks.
Sunday morning, Duren and I drove back home. On the way we were able to stop and see my family. Such a great weekend.