First Name: Ryan
Last Name: Pontier
Nickname: Mr. P
Grade: 3rd in Spanish, now 2nd Grade in English
Curriculum: English
Email: rpontier@balere.org
Languages: English and Spanish
Biography ::
Mr. Pontier was raised in New Jersey for all of his childhood. He later attended Boston College for two years and then spent his junior year abroad in Madrid at La Universidad Autonoma de Madrid where he honed his Spanish skills and fostered his love for different cultures. In 2004, Mr. Pontier graduated from Boston College and relocated to rural South Texas along the United States/Mexican border where he taught 3rd grade Spanish Language Arts while under the supervision of Teach For America, a program that trains recent college graduates to become teachers in low-income areas throughout the United States. After two years of teaching it is with great pleasure that Mr. Pontier enters into a new and exciting adventure at Balere Language Academy in Miami!
Teaching Philosophy::
My goals as a teacher include teaching fundamental concepts, fostering critical thinking, facilitating acquisition of life-long learning skills, and developing problem-solving strategies. These goals are met through a diverse repertoire of activities such as Cooperative Learning, bilingual pairing, hetero- and homogeneous ability grouping, research projects, class presentations, guest speakers, field trips, and careful selection of meaningful literature that represent real life scenarios.
All of my students excel in a bilingual academic setting, which allows for each individual to develop a better understanding of his/her environment and the real and potential problems in it. Combined with Spencer Kagans Cooperative Learning, the students experience the importance of working in groups to solve problems and express opinions. Often students shy away from the opportunity to share the work in which they have invested themselves, but with Cooperative Learning the students feel welcomed and less stressed since they are not forced to present to the whole class. Students who may often not know an answer, become easily distracted, are learning a second language, or simply appear apathetic are assisted by those who constantly shine in an academic setting.
Everyone deserves a fair chance at a great education. It is for this reason that I choose to teach and strive to work to my utmost potential every single day. The past two years I worked in a district that served an at-risk, low-income, disadvantaged population. By using my bilingual talents I fought to give every student the opportunity to improve, gave them hope and confidence, and showed that there is someone who cares (when it may have often seemed that no one did).
As a dedicated teacher I hope to uphold my high expectations, attain my goals, and propel all of my students to the path of success.
