Hsinchu International School
August 30th,
2011
Dear Parents,
My name is James Anderson and I would like to welcome your child to the
second grade! This is my second year at
Hsinchu International
School and I have been
teaching elementary school children for the past 6 years. I am originally from
America, born in
Pennsylvania
and raised just north of
Milwaukee,
Wisconsin. During high school I moved out west and
attended
Oregon State
University in
Corvallis, Oregon,
where I received a Batcher of Science Degree in Forestry Resources.
After university, I went to
Florence,
Italy, to earn
my TEFL degree (Teach English as a Foreign Language). It was there that I found my passion for
teaching. I taught in
Cusco,
Peru and then
South
Korea before moving to
Taiwan
where I completed a Master’s Degree in Education from
Framingham
State University
and earned an Elementary Teaching Certificate from the
College of New Jersey.
This is my fourth year living in the wonderful country of
Taiwan. W
hen I am not working I enjoy traveling, reading, playing
ultimate frisbee, gardening, and spending time with my wife.
To me, the best thing about being in the classroom is the
children. Their enthusiasm for learning makes every class fun and
challenging for me. A student-centered approach to teaching,
emphasizing learning by experience, is something I truly believe in. By organizing the classroom in such a way
that removes the “spotlight” from myself, instead focusing on the students and
giving them the opportunity to participate actively in our lessons, I believe
their interest in the subject matter can be inspired and stimulated.
In
my classroom students are encouraged to voice their own opinions, questions,
and make connections to their real lives, making lessons meaningful to
them. By turning both the schoolyard and
local community into classrooms, I feel that the gap between both the school
and real lives of the students can be bridged and strengthened, adding further
value to the classroom learning environment.
Being
respectful, responsible, and cooperative are the three “umbrella” rules that I
implement in my classroom. They are
posted on a board and are clearly visible to all students. I have found that these rules can be applied
to any situation and are effective in further establishing the community
atmosphere.
I
will be using a blog to communicate with you throughout the year. Some things
that will be on the blog will be weekly schedule, upcoming tests dates,
spelling test words, pictures, educational websites, and more. The web address
is
http://mranderson2ndgradeclass.blogspot.com.
Please go to this website and click the “follow me” button. I make a post every
Friday so please be sure to check it out. I look forward to developing a strong
partnership with you over the course of the school year, which I believe can
only further enhance the learning possibilities for the children. Please feel free to email me, call me, or
stop in before or after the class to if you have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
James Anderson
