Educators value the success of all students. Educators care for students and act in their best interests.
As a teacher my number one goal is ensuring the safety and well being of all of my students. I do this by always greeting each individual student in the morning at the classroom door and checking in with each student throughout the day to see how they are doing. I had a lot of students in my practicum class that were struggling with self regulation and anxiety. I tried to help these students by providing supports for them such as an area in the class where they could go when they needed a moment or a safe place to go. This spot had a bean bag chair, ear protectors to muffle noise, and fidgets to help students calm down. This space worked really well to help students that needed it and helped with self-regulation as most students that used the space went there on their own when they needed it and were able to rejoin the class after a few minutes.
Many students in my class came to school without eating breakfast. I always allowed these students time to eat in the class in the morning as we had a “soft start” where all students would be quietly reading on their own or with a partner. I also had a student that would occasionally come to school without an adequate lunch. I reached out to the youth care worker and Abed worker to get a proper lunch for this student on the days he came to school without one. I recognize the importance of certain needs being taken care of first before any learning can take place. This includes ensuring students have had a well balanced meal in the morning and eat a lunch later on in the day. If students ask for a snack or a drink of water throughout the day I always allow them to have it because learning cannot take place if those primary needs are not met first.