My Teaching Philosophy

“I never had a favorite teacher.” => My students know I care.

A friend who grew up in Baltimore City never had a favorite teacher or subject in school. And during his time as a student, he never had a teacher who really reached out to him. How can we expect children to learn if they do not trust us? My top priority is building rapport with my students. I do not expect my students to learn from me if they do not trust me. And by acknowledging my students as a person with unique interests and hobbies, I build a genuine relationship (because I genuinely love them). I also build community in my classroom. I do so through planning small-group or team-building exercises like interest groups and reading groups. Additionally, I help meet the needs of my students--from physiological to psychological (like self-actualization)--with transparency. I allow them to see me as a flawed person who makes mistakes. I also value and listen to their voices in every interaction--in conversations, classroom surveys, and more. I make sure that students know I have their best interest at heart. I VALUE TRUST!

“School was boring.” => My students are engaged.

If we expect children to spend their entire childhood and adolescence in school, then school should repay that investment by being interesting and mentally stimulating. One of my professional goals as a teacher is to use literature to open up other worlds and expand possibilities for my students. I believe literature is powerful in its ability to abolish ignorance and create more well-rounded citizens. I share this power with my students by giving them access to a wide variety of culturally responsive literature across societies, themes, and topics. Giving students this access to diverse voices and experiences awakens a new thirst for knowledge. But I do not stop there. In order to prepare my students to enter the texts, I also teach them the skills necessary to fully engage these new worlds and possibilities. The necessary skills can be broken into two primary categories: reading and research. Our reading strategies include highlighting, using post-it notes, and close reading. Our research strategies include dictionary and internet use as well as collecting and synthesizing research materials.

Not only do I focus on print literacy, I also expose my students to oral, visual, and media literacy through arts-integration and technology. I incorporate my students’ lives and voices in the classroom by encouraging them to learn about themselves and their backgrounds. I also encourage my students to explore and celebrate others' backgrounds, emphasizing life skills like dealing with relationships, time management, social-emotional learning, and more. My students are able to apply what they learn in my class practically everyday and they genuinely enjoy coming to class. I VALUE JOY!

“I don’t feel like I did anything.” => My students are proud of their work.

From day one, my students know the work that they do in class is important right now. Each trimester, my students produce work that they are proud of that will be showcased in their portfolio. Through project-based learning and authentic audiences, each student not only sees an increase in their test scores, but also an increase in valuable skills they can add to their arsenal. As a teacher, I instill confidence in my students by encouraging their efforts to develop their academic and social abilities. I provide feedback in areas of improvement, and help them set realistic goals. I challenge them to tackle more and more rigorous work (like research papers and literary analyses) to help sharpen their abilities. And I assign learning experiences that students can use in their everyday lives--like writing letters for social change, personal statements, and application essays. Perfection does not exist in my classroom, but I always encourage my students to improve their work. I promote improvements by addressing my students' writing challenges and providing re-write opportunities to ensure that they are learning from their mistakes. As we work work together to build a class with a social justice emphasis, my students embed what they learn in the historical contexts behind social justice movements. Students also learn how to create change in their communities in the present. I challenge them to speak up in their daily lives--to use their voices proudly at protests, in poetry, and in dinner table conversations. And I encourage my students to be disruptive in productive ways by pointing out ways they can address unhelpful paradigms and systems in their lives. My students are able to use what they do in the classroom everyday. I VALUE ACTIVISM!