The foundation of my teaching philosophy centers around creating a safe, nurturing classroom environment where all students learn, question, and develop towards becoming conscientious and conscious global citizens. It is important to guide children towards aquiring the skills of critical reflection and reasoning, healthy communication, and self-regulation through modeling.
I value curiosity, inquiry and reflection; therefore, I encourage students to observe, listen, question, and reflect critically. Thinking and reasoning with a critical perspective helps students throughout their education and their adult lives to analyze, sort, and question information in order to determine, based on evidence and not emotional factors, what is true and important. There are so many issues arising globally around the subjects of the environment, toxins, and the energy and nutritive needs for a growing population, not to mention politics, economics and differing values creating crisis around the world. Our children need to be well equipped to evaluate and determine how best to proceed.
Knowledge and understanding within the realms of subjects such as mathematics, science, reading, writing, the arts, and social studies are important; however, I enjoy creating unit plans that integrate several of these subject matters allowing children to make deep connections between domains of studies. My love of philosophy, justice and neuroscience assists me in weaving issues of social justice and critical thought into all subjects.
Effective communication is a crucial and valuable life skill that needs to be demonstrated, reinforced, and expected from our youth in order that they build healthy interpersonal and professional relationships throughout their lives. Learning self-regulation strategies to better manage emotional reactivity prepares our youth to act considerately on their critical thoughts. These skills are transferable to any domain, any areas of study, any career, any lifestyle choice, and contribute to the health of the individual, their family, their community, their country, and the globe.
It is fundamental to know oneself and to constantly question our motivations, our intentions, and our choices. It is very important for children to learn skills to evaluate their choices and be supported in their process of self-discovery, self-awareness, and self-regulation.