My teaching metaphor is that a classroom is an orchestra. The teacher is the conductor, the students are the musicians, and their individual efforts are seen through the music they produce. The reasoning behind this was that while the teacher is necessary and can help facilitate student learning, the students need to put forth their own effort as well. The teacher works together with the students, and motivates them, so that the students can realize their own potential. The teacher needs to make the effort, with the students, in creating a safe space where they can ask questions and discuss real world situations and experiences. Teachers need to work together with the students in preparing them for life while also teaching them to look and see for themselves what is there and perhaps how they can make something better. We can do this by emphasizing problem solving and connecting the lessons being taught to the student’s life. Students aren’t going to learn as effectively if all they do is read from a textbook. Therefore, the teacher needs to teach in such a way as to make connections with the individual students and their lives. I believe that the students should have an active role in their own education. They should be given the tools needed to be able to think for themselves and look at what they are learning in their own individual ways. Make their educations and learning their own. Student’s should feel listened to and that their answers are being taken seriously. They should also have someone who is willing to share their enthusiasm and revel in their accomplishments alongside them with a smile.