Pillars

I am currently working on my Teaching Philosophy for my Teaching (e-) Portfolio, which I am preparing for opportunities on the horizon – both during and after I graduate.

I have been working on my portfolio since the fall, and I have found it so rewarding. Yes, I intend to use it as a tool to obtain employment, but in my organizational work, drafting, and writing up some of the smaller sections of this document, I have identified the major pillars of what I believe in, and how this is reflected in my teaching. Coming to recognize the pillars of my teaching practice has basically written my Teaching Philosophy for me, short of my actually sitting down to write it out.

The main two pillars are Community and Connections.

I believe so strongly in forging a tight knit community. One of the major vehicles in doing so is volunteering, something I am also very passionate about. I just googled “volunteerism” and found this wonderful sentence:

Volunteering is the most fundamental act of citizenship and philanthropy in our society. -Volunteer Canada

That’s so beautifully said. One may not give impressive checks to an organization, but their time is just as, if not more, valuable. Spending time for a cause is a wonderful act of citizenship!

While Community is a word I use to illustrate what I value, Connections is a word I use to illustrate my primary goal as a teacher. If I foster a connection between students, between myself and a student, or between students and course content, I should feel like I’ve done well. This is how I aim to honour what I value in the classroom, as I envision a community as a beautiful web of connections.

Wow…thanks, blog, for facilitating a really easy Teaching Philosophy drafting session.