Chapters 3 & 4

1a. How is “living what [you] believe” both difficult and easy for teachers? Often times as teachers we have the ambition to go out and change the world. We see things that need to change and set off do to so. This can be difficult for teachers as they realize that there is only so much they can do. Because there are so many people we have to report to our beliefs may take a while to be realized. However, as we live what we believe in our own classrooms, we can make a world of difference in the lives of those students. Teachers who live what they believe find it easier to meet the needs of the students because they truly are teaching students and wanting to make a difference.

 1b. How can (might, should) differentiation affect “living what you believe”? Differentiation can affect living what you believe by making a difference in the lives of the individuals whom you are teaching. Differentiation is all about teaching to the specific needs of the students and doing all you can to ensure that each child is learning. As the book stated, many teachers go into teaching because of a sense of enormous possibilities of limitless possibilities of learning. This belief can be made possible by differentiating in the classroom and helping each student find a way to reach that limitless possibility of learning.


1c. From chapter 4, explain what Tomlinson meant when she suggests that a teacher, early and often, should say to students, “Let’s figure this out together. Let’s make this our class.” I love that she explains that the teacher is the professional and responsible for what happens in the classroom, but a wise teacher, "understands that virtually everything in the classroom will work better if it 'velongs to us' rather than 'belonging to me.'" As a teacher allows students to share responsibility to students need (affirmation, contribution, power, purpose, and challenge) are all met. The teacher is responding to those needs in a very good, positive way. When a classroom becomes "our class" in becomes a better place to foster learning.