The 5 W’s
of myself as a
Teaching
Professional
Bianca Cafaro
Who Am I?
My name is Bianca Cafaro. I am a senior at the
University of Rhode Island. I am a Spanish
and Secondary Education Major. I am
constantly looking for ways to use and improve
my Spanish. One of the ways I do this is by
traveling; I studied in Buenos Aires, Argentina
for four months and I will continue to travel to
other Latin American countries to learn about
the culture and people.
Aside from languages, I love to read, watch
movies, and spend time with family and
friends.
I will be graduating in the Spring of May 2013
and my goal is to be a high school Spanish
teacher within the upcoming year!
Why do I Want to Teach?
Teaching the youth of the United States another language would be a huge honor and
privilege to me. The idea of majoring in Secondary Education became attractive to
me after I began tutoring Spanish at URI’s Academic Enhancement Center. The
positive feedback I was getting was overwhelmingly exciting and I realized that I
would like to pursue a degree in education to continue teaching and helping
students in something that I love, the beautiful Spanish language and the vibrant,
interesting cultures that come with the language.
After traveling outside of the United States and studying abroad in Buenos Aires,
Argentina I have come to the realization that the United States, although advanced
in many things such as technology and the economy, we are very behind in foreign
languages; something that I not only find extremely important, but fun! Any
difference I can make in a student’s life will be very meaningful to me. I would like
to share my excitement for Spanish and hopefully my future students will love
learning it with me!
What is My Philosophy of Teaching?
I am not defined by only one approach of teaching or behavior management. I
would describe my philosophy of teaching as being flexible and open to
new things. I am definitely an understanding person and can sympathize
with certain student situations while still not letting myself be taken
advantage of or walked all over. If a student is misbehaving in class, instead
of losing my temper and immediately punishing them, I will wait until after
class to speak to the student privately and discuss with them the situation;
this can help the student become motivated to change instead of bringing
negativity into the situation. The students that behave and work hard, will
receive positive acknowledgement and encouragement. The students that
need help will also receive my attention and encouragement! I will work
hard to maintain a positive and caring environment through my teaching and
behavior management style.
• Behavioristic
• Humanistic
What are My Classroom Rules?
• First and foremost, I expect respect in the classroom. I
believe that the students should respect each other and myself.
This is what creates and maintains a positive environment,
which in turn will make it easier and more fun for the students
to learn and for myself to teach them!
• Students will all be required to actively engage in class and
submit assignments on time.
• The rest of the rules will be established together as a class.
What Does My Positive Behavior
Intervention Include?
• As part of my daily classroom routine, I will be sure to include
positive behavior interventions. When students are behaved
and are evidently working hard, they will be rewarded.
• On the other hand, when students are not handing in
assignments and putting no effort into class, they will be
spoken to by me and together we will try to work together to
help the student move forward and progress.
• When a student is continuously misbehaving in class, I will
have a three-strike system. The two strikes are warnings and
the last strike disciplinary action will be taken (detention, etc.)