My teaching philosophy is simple - I want my students to enjoy reading, writing and, most importantly, thinking.  I want each story to come alive in a way that is not simply read, regurgitate facts, and forget.  Each story should have a life of its own.  The way we can accomplish making stories come alive is through discussion.  My class depends heavily on group discussion to come to conclusions, theories and, eventually, understandings.  

I try to take my students' learning past the simple comprehension and push them "beyond the book."  Instead of providing summaries, we will be analyzing stories for allusions and symbolism.  This class will provide students with the deeper reading skills that are taught in the higher grades.  The goal is that each child enters into the high school overly-prepared for their English class.  

In school, I learned best by teachers who were personable, down to earth, and approachable.  This is how I structure my class, as well.  No student should ever feel intimidated or shy about asking a question, so my classroom is typically very easy going in order to create a comfortable learning environment at all times.