PHILOSOPHY OF TEACHING

I believe that it is the duty of educators to empower their students to be learners and communicators of their knowledge. I am drawn to teaching because of the unique position teachers have to engage with communities filled with people from such different backgrounds – each with different experiences, culture, and knowledge. As a teacher, I am able to learn from this diverse group of people and position families, students, and community members as partners with immense amounts of knowledge to share. This results in the design and implementation of relevant, authentic learning experiences for students in the classroom. Each community has a wide variety of resources, and it is important for teachers to provide students with the skills to locate and unlock those resources.

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Meeting the teaching standard of providing students with these opportunities to engage with their communities takes genuine and consistent connection with students, their families, and the broader community that crosses traditional home and school boundaries and positions these stakeholders as partners in learning and teaching. Relationships must be established and nurtured throughout the year in a variety of contexts – school, home, libraries, and local businesses. The quality of these relationships will directly determine how willing the community is to partner in the classroom.

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With the goal of fostering strong, genuine relationships with families and the community, I regularly attend community events, participate in community activism, and work to bring community members into my classroom. I maintain regular, thorough communication with students’ families to communicate students’ strengths and areas for growth, conduct home visits to position myself as a learner in my community, and make a strong effort to learn about my students’ lives outside of school.

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A classroom that values partnership with the community will have positive, visible outcomes for that classroom’s students. Its students will recognize the capital of the community in which they live, they will know how to access that capital and how to offer their own knowledge and experience to others, and they will be motivated to learn content that is nested in local context and relevant to their lives. Its students will know how to have conversations with people from different backgrounds and those with different ideals. Most importantly, its students will be able to critically analyze their community and develop innovative solutions to problems it faces.

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An important aspect of diversity is highlighted by the range of ways that students learn, view the world around them, and communicate what they know. I find it important to celebrate these differences, while recognizing the importance of high standards for all. Starting with a firm understanding of academic and social standards that are consistent for all students is crucial in order for me to honor the potential that all students carry.

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Once this foundation has been established, the paths on which students travel to meet these standards can look very different, and I ensure that my instruction reflects this need by encouraging students to communicate mastery of concepts in different ways that they find relevant and meaningful in their lives. This variety takes the form of choice built into assignments, different forms of presentation and participation in class, and a variety of formats for assessments, capturing the potential of all students to meet the standards.

Everything we need to be successful can be found within our community. We just need to know how to look for it.