How does who I am inform my teaching practice?

My identity, values, positionality and lived experience of being an ‘other’ in so many ways, and for so much of my life, affect my role as an educator. Some of the struggles that I have had have been good struggles and I have stopped myself from giving up when times were hard. I’ve pushed through and persevered. These lessons will influence me as a teacher, not to give up on students.

Coming from a minority community myself, I will be open to learning from those students whose communities “have suffered the sentence of history—subjugation, domination, diaspora, displacement” (Homi Bhabha) have felt ‘othered’ (Nieto & Bode, 2018). I would love to hear all students develop their confidence and speak their point of view. I would love to nurture citizens who will go out and do amazing things, having sharpened their sense of self and understanding that they have the power to collaborate and make happen a better world for themselves and others.

My philosophy about the role of a teacher aligns with an inclusive, equitable pedagogy such as Culturally Responsive Teaching (Hammond, 2015; Rucker, 2019) and Ethics of Care framework (Nieto & Bode, 2018). Teachers are not the authoritative distributors of knowledge. I do not have all the wisdom nor all the answers. New possibilities emerge when students and teachers are co-learners.

Equitable practices across pedagogy & curriculum

I will support a diverse group of students by creating an inclusive and equitable pedagogy and curriculum. I will tailor the pedagogy and curriculum I use to support and empower a diverse group of students. In my practice I will be aware of resource gap, the opportunity gap, and the expectations gap reflect the larger social, economic, and political contexts. I will use an “equity pedagogy,” to modify my teaching to include a variety of teaching styles and approaches that are consistent with the wide range of learning styles and cultural groups (Nieto & Bode, 2018).

An antiracist, inclusive multicultural perspective will permeate both how and what I teach. I will use a “problem-posing education", culturally responsive teaching methods that are passed down from one generation to the next (Hammond, 2015; Rucker, 2019). and ethics of care (Nieto & Bode, 2018). I want to see my students be academically successful. To this end I will rely on high perfectionism and high help. I will consistently and continually press students to strive for both understanding and accuracy in their assignments. I will encourage them to ask questions and strive for understanding and accuracy. I will practice these high expectations with empathy and compassion and will encourage students to talk to me when they are confused or making mistakes.

Pedagogy

The pedagogy will be based on praxis (knowledge, reflection, and action). Students will be involved in planning their education, learn collaboratively and be actively involved in heterogeneous groups. Much of the learning, will happen through paired and group and discussion, reflection and problem-solving.

Culturally Responsive Teaching

The gift of diversity offers the richness of knowledge and experience from a diversity of cultures that can be strategies for learning in the classroom. Some of these gifts are the community culture, students’ history, culture and native languages and the involvement of their families.

Inclusive, equitable pedagogy for diverse students (BIPOC students, students from different national origins and immigration status) who come from oral cultural traditions is best served by oral and active culturally responsive teaching using cultural learning styles and strategies passed down through generations that is familiar to students in their out-of-school life (Hammond, 2015). Those would involve making learning fun through gamifying, (GAMIFY IT) with methods such as repetition, solving puzzles, and making connections; making learning social by organizing learning so that students rely on each other and “storify” their understanding of key concepts and words (STORIFY IT).

I hope to build learning capacities and leverage the strengths of students and adapt learning to different communication styles of individual students.

ETHICS of care

I will support students and create an inclusive and equitable learning environment through building close and trusting relationships. An essential component in promoting student learning is what Nel Noddings has called the "ethic of care”, or culturally relevant critical teacher care that builds a sense of belonging and a high degree of school persistence in BIPOC and other students.

Since effective schooling relies almost entirely on creative and passionate teachers, my teaching will incorporate interactive and graphic scaffolding. I will make myself always available to students, will try hard to communicate kindness though my actions, be interested in students’ well-being inside and outside the classroom, and support the whole student’s growth by making the classroom setting an appropriate space for them to safely share their emotions, attitudes, beliefs, feelings and appreciations, and values. I also hope to stay for the long haul (Nieto & Bode, 2018).

I will try to support access to the resources for students’ and their families’ might need. I will resist tracking, and advocate against the use of standardized tests for sorting and stratifying students. I will also be watchful for any signs of inequitable access, or institutional barriers students encounter.