Teaching

My Teaching Philosophy

I believe in education the same way I believe in democracy. It is not mandatory, but we are better off with it than without it. It is not easy, but it is worth it. It is not a given, so we sure need to keep fighting for it every day.

I believe in my role as an educator. Because it matches my personality. Because I've role played it since I was 3. Because I've practiced it since I was 7. And because today, education and educating are the drivers of my life goal - to help as many people as I can to become a better version of themselves.

I believe in student-centered teaching and learning, because it is based on respect. Respect for the person who is there to learn. Respect for their time, money, effort, and expectations, by focusing on delivering the best of how a student can learn. It also means respect for yourself as an educator. Respect for your profession, your experience and your goals, by focusing on delivering the best of how a teacher can teach.

I believe in life-long learning, because it is extremely unrealistic to think otherwise. With or without titles, in a structured or unstructured way, we are all teachers and we are all students, all of our lives. And I say, let's acknowledge this and try to be better at it, whichever side of the story we find ourselves on. There's rarely anything to lose when it comes to learning, and a lot more to gain.

I believe in experiential learning, not only because research shows it is one of the most effective adult learning frameworks, but because it focuses on delivering a comprehensive learning experience that actively engages feelings and emotions to improve knowledge and skills. It gives us a practical sense of understanding.

This road is not easy. It requires patience, openness to feedback, and a lot of effort and consideration for the other. It requires building knowledge paths that are engaging, helpful, personalized, and effective, despite the variety of people before you. It requires vision, experimentation and constant improvement. Not many people have the courage and tenacity to pursue this. The ones that do though, have rarely reported anything else than just pride, gratitude and fulfillment with their work. Since we anyway have to work, I join those who believe in the work they do, and whose work gives them a sense of meaning, purpose and belonging.