Educators value the success of all students. Educators care for students and act in their best interests.

Addressing Standard One, this standard is something that comes naturally for me. Why I feel this way is because this standard is the basic reasoning for why we do what we do. For myself, the success of all students as well as their wellbeing and best interests is very important. As teachers, we have a lot to think about when it comes to the profession that goes beyond the students as far as professional development, contributing to the profession and so on. But, having said that, the learners are our first priority. In my experience through education, this standard can really encompass everything we do in the classroom and beyond. For example, even things like taking the time to make connections, get to know your students and give them a voice is part of this standard because making sure you are doing your best for your students is part of creating that success. I also think this standard really speaks to the fact that we have to make the education fit the learner and not the other way around. As educators and lifelong learners, we must create an environment and education plan that is going to work for our students. Another part of this is making sure we are bringing them the content of the curriculum in a way that’s going to be engaging for them in order to set them up good opportunities for learning and connection. Coming back to the basic care of students, this can extend beyond just the reach of our classrooms and can include the role of family, the rest of the school, friends and so on. At particular schools, this can include things like meal programs, after-school clubs and so on. On a small scale, this can include checking in on certain students if they are having a and day, communicating with parents and families, making sure your classroom is a safe place and many more things. To give some more exploration of this standard, In my time in the classroom this standard came through for me in simply taking the time to listen to what they wanted to tell me in passing just to make them feel heard and let them know I cared about what they were saying. Even though doing this is not necessarily a big part of my role as a teacher candidate, I really understood that to create a good classroom atmosphere your students need to feel safe and happy. This standard was really behind all my lesson plans and my general attitude everyday because I was there for my students and that is and continues to be my main focus as an educator.