Teaching Philosophy – I n q u i r y

As an educator, I would like to be in a position where not only do I impart knowledge, but also provide students a deeply rooted platform for the broadening of perspectives on their position in our globalized society. I would like to order to afford students a clear sense of agency as they continue to discover their place in their communities. I would like to encourage students’ awareness of their own as well as others’ extrinsic and intrinsic motivations for perceived successes in their lives. Ideally, I would like to expose students to the great benefits of critical awareness, in order to help students make choices, and provide tools, which would grant them the ability to confidently position themselves on important social and critical issues. My goal as an educator is to be effective in stimulating the minds of students while inspiring them to fall in love with learning, while fostering a sense of curiosity and innovative creation.

Celebrated theoretical physicist Richard Feynman explained the importance of curiosity best by distinguishing the difference between knowing something and knowing the name of something. In these anecdotes, the importance of curiosity is highlighted and a contributing factor in effective knowledge acquisition. It is important for students to understand the concept of truly knowing something, as this will guide them on through out their lives. Incorporating a teaching standard that caters to multiple intelligences, giving way to the exploration of curiosity is a personal teaching philosophy of mine.

My classroom will be a place where students feel they can be themselves, and where they can openly express their thoughts and ideas. I envision a cooperative space; one that encompasses the philosophy that every single human being inside the room has purpose, value, and above all – a voice.

British Columbia’s English Language Arts curriculum provides a platform, which conveniently allows for the incorporation of several disciplines as mode for exploration. I, with my many interests, envision an exploration of themes derived from such disciplines as: philosophy, psychology, social humanities, and in some cases, the sciences, when exploring various texts in the English language. In effort for students to formulate their individual identities, there needs to be an exploration of critical issues on a multi-disciplinary level. Multi-modal learning opens several pathways, which serve to aid students’ various learning styles. Whether kinaesthetic, auditory, and visuo-spatial learning within the classroom will be embraced. Through these learning styles, students will be exposed to the various kinds of intelligences (e.g., verbal/linguistic, mathematical/logical, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal etcetera), in order to better identify with their strengths as well as their weaknesses regarding learning.

I believe it is important for each individual to make an effort to identify personal strengths, weaknesses and strive to realize and maximize their potential as a human being. I will provide ample opportunity for self and peer assessment, in which students will explore their modes and methodology on a metacognitive level, aiding in their understanding of their self and how they operate.

As technology continues to advance in our society, there is a responsibility for educators to acknowledge that students ought to be technologically literate. The incorporation of Information and Communication Technology, in the classroom, is essential to student’s learning in the 21^st century classroom. It is important to not only provide students with useful learning tools (e.g., digital concept mapping, sources of information, ability to create digital portfolios and various social media etcetera), but it is also important to expose them to the advancement of technology, through an educational lens.