SCIENCE & LANGUAGE ARTS CLASS

Mr. Jim Carlton

Resume: Mr. Carlton has 19 years experience in education, 15 in Christian schools. He enjoys learning with his students and encouraging them to think creatively. He and his wife of 29 years have one daughter who is a Rollins College Graduate and working in environmental sciences for Polk County.

I believe that teaching is an art and that art is subjective. Each teacher has a unique perspective of his/her student's. The expectations and goals that I hold for my students may differ widely from those of parents, or other teachers. I endeavor to go beyond covering the material. I use concept mapping to help students internalize vocabulary words for instance. I use various types of evaluations to determine the student's comprehension.

Teaching causes changes in a student. I pray that I am causing those changes to be positive and within God's will. Student performance is a product of my skill in conveying information to them and I realize that my teaching style may not match every learning style. Through the use of pre-reading exercises, group discussions, and writing exercises students will gain the skills that will prepare them for the high
school experience.

Above all I believe there are no dumb students, just dumb teachers. Teachers must work inside and outside of the 'box'. We must defy set boundaries and beliefs to define the 'box'. I realize not every method will be 100% effective if at all. There is an old saying, “To teach is to touch a life forever.” This is true to the extent that we teachers do touch lives everyday, so we must teach well and touch lives in positive ways, because to teach poorly also touches lives forever.

Teaching is a humbling experience and daily I pray for wisdom, long suffering, and guidance from my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Let us build bridges of communication and not walls of misunderstanding so our jobs as parents and teachers touches the lives of our future in God's will.