As a young educator I hope to continually test and refine my teaching philosophy. At this point, I have a few tenets that I hope to build my class upon.

Trust – The teacher-student relationship requires trust, in that, students must trust that the teacher has their best interest.  Alternatively, teacher’s must trust that students are giving their best efforts.

Respect – The classroom community must be respectful in all means and forms.  Student-student and teacher-student relationships must be built on respect. Students should respect the presence of the teacher, while the teacher should respect the value of each student and what they bring to the community.  Each student enters the classroom with personal funds of knowledge and a story.  It is my role as a teacher to help students explore their personal stories with classmates to teach respect for diversity and each other’s baggage.  No one is above one another, each student should respect other’s role in the classroom. As well, the learning journey is not ‘a way one street’, purely for student development.

Integrity – Students and most importantly, the teacher, should act with integrity.  Being passionate and acting with integrity shows that there is nothing wrong being yourself. Additionally, academic integrity in this modern age is prevalent and teaching proper research methods would also be important.

Perseverance – There will be struggles at times, for students and for myself; however, I expect myself and my students to persevere through struggle and to try approaching problems through different perspectives.

Citizenship – My educational journey involved plenty of extracurricular activities; which provided my school life with various dimensions and opportunities to experience new communities. I try to stay involved in my community and at my alma mater because I’m continually hoping to reciprocate and mimic the positive influence I was given. I hope to teach my students a similar attitude in exploring the diverse communities within the Lower Mainland and staying involved through various forms.