My name is Penny Bortner and I have been teaching middle school language arts for 13 years, 12 at Kearney Middle School in Commerce City, Colorado.
Currently, I teach 6th grade language arts, Junior Great Books and reading. My philosphy is that I believe that my job is not to teach you what to think, but to think for yourself and I use reading and writing as the vehicle to help each student learn to think for him or herself. It is also my belief that all students who enter my class need to have the mindset that college is in their future and that every student can work hard and earn scholarships. In the 6th grade, we discuss future goals and dreams and that the difference between a goal and a dream is a deadline and to set goals, not just dreams.
Reflection is key to good teaching, and in order to create students who are ready for the real world, incorporating technology in the class is key. Like my students should be constantly learning, I should as well and my new challenge is learning about and applying teachnology in my teaching. Also, I will be taking a college class in cells and hereditary and hope to incorporate this new knowledge into a collaborative unit.
