My teaching philosophy comes out of a 16 year old me, sitting in a math classroom, asking myself, as quite possibly many others, why am I learning this? Where can I apply this in my life?

As a teacher, I don’t want to give my student the tools to just pass the course, but practical tools, tools that can be applied in academia, but more importantly, in the world in general.

I don’t want to empower my students with knowledge to just do well on a test, I want to empower my students with knowledge to look at media and texts critically, to empower them as individuals, that their voices are both valid and wise, and that they have to ability to be heard, to contribute and be promulgators of change, on any scale they wish to.

I don’t have all the answers. In fact, I don’t have most of the answers. But I can look them up. Or better yet, we can look them up together I believe it is important that as a teacher, I am also a constant learner. My students ask me questions and I ask them questions. We figure it out together, as a class. My students are super smart. I give them a few tools and they give me a few tools.

I do not set my students’ goals, they do. Each student has a different outlook on the future, wants something unique, and has their own particular way and learning method to achieve it. Their hobbies, their dreams and their focuses need to be represented in the classroom. As a teacher I must be flexible and willing to build my classes and my lessons around my students’ interests, questions and goals. The learning outcomes in the new curriculum can be explored through classes focused on the needs and desires of my students. My students love Rick and Morty. Why not write an in class ode poem to their spaceship? As a teacher it’s important to know what my students are interested in, which means watching a lot of Youtube, cartoons and vines. I am able to discuss a variety of subjects and topics through their favorite media, as develop critical thinking skills through further inquiry.

I don’t want to tell my students to conform, to play the game, to do as your told. I want my students to set their own course, to be whoever they wish to be, to follow their dreams, their desires, not the prescribed dreams of their parents, their mentors or their teachers.

I don’t want to teach my students history or English, because the curriculum says I must. I want to teach them history, as it relates to today, I want to teach them English they can relate to, that they are interested in, that challenges them, entices them to get excited to learn, and facilitates and encourages them to speak their minds, to never feel that their opinions don’t matter.

Maybe that’s too ideal. Maybe it will be hard to maintain this passion for teaching and I will burn out. All we can determine for sure is now, which is something I wish to impart onto my students as well.

In my classroom, we are a community, helping each other to learn, grow and succeed. As a community we will decide how our class it setup, how it is to function, how best we can make the most of our time together.

I am sure this page will be in constant flux as I continue to build upon my notion of a teaching philosophy. It’s only natural as I am exposed to new experiences, new people, who show me brilliant new things, embed in me a million and two brilliant, challenging and vibrant ideas that could alter nothing and everything I believe in.

Please, explore my page and enjoy a wonderful skip or frolic down the path of learning!