My name is Ms. Stephanie DiVito, and I am graduate from Rutgers University-Camden College of Arts and Sciences with a major in English. I recently finished my student teaching with a certificate in Elementary Education (K-6) and Students with Disabilities. I chose to major in English because I have always had a passion for literature and its themes and messages it has to teach. I want to be able to teach those themes and messages to the children I teach as well. I also like how no matter how old students get, they will need to read and write for the rest of their lives. Furthermore, they will need to know to read and write in whatever the learn; whether it is math, science, social studies, or a special subject. I know as a teacher that it is important to incorporate literacy in teaching lessons in any subject I teach because of importance for children. I like to use my strength in literacy in teaching whenever I can in my pedagogy. For example, I like to do read alouds and writing assignments whenever it is appropriate because I not only understand its importance in literacy as a necessity for children, but I understand the importance of teaching interdisciplinary lessons.
My interest to pursue teaching as a career actually started in my senior year of high school when I knew I wanted to work with literature in some way. Moreover, I realized that I had such a love for children. Although I would not be able to teach young children the literature I was reading in my senior year of high school, I could teach them the lessons it had to teach. After all, school is not just a place that teaches academics, but it also teaches important social values, like the values in literature. Children’s literature has so much to teach children itself, so I would still be teaching students the important values literature teaches. All literature teaches important values; it does not matter if it is Shakespeare or Dr. Seuss.
Literacy and social values are just two of the many concepts learn in school to prepare them for the real world. As a teacher, I want my students to learn the skills they will need to succeed in the real world now and in the future. As elementary school teachers, we are responsible for shaping children to help them decide what their future aspirations and careers will be. Therefore, as an elementary school teacher, it is my goal to help students figure out what they want to do in the future by introducing them to as many skills as possible to help them pursue a passion. I believe in growth mindset, or the idea that if a student keeps practicing a certain skill, he or she will achieve mastery of that skill. I want to build on my student’s strengths and help them use those strengths to achieve their goals. As a teacher, I want to be the reason for student growth and success. I want them to believe in growth mindset like I do, and I want them to keep practicing to get better in my class and beyond.