Educational Philosophy

The purpose of education is wildly different depending upon whom you ask. Some will say that education is designed to help students cultivate successful careers. However, education should be designed to allow students to live freer, more enriched lives. Without freedom of thought, one cannot attain true freedom. True education allows learners to think larger thoughts, to understand what they see better, and to expand the scope of their awareness of the world.

Learning does not happen in isolation. Psychologist Lev Vygotsky suggested that all learning is social. If that is true, then our social interactions and examples are all teaching tools--that every time children see, hear, or otherwise experience an event they have a chance to learn something. The question of course to always bear in mind is, "What lesson are they actually learning from this?" Often the message we are hoping to transmit is not the one that is received. Our learners will discover for themselves lessons about life and adults and their classmates as well as perhaps, if we are fortunate, some bits of knowledge and some elements of skill in the subject matter we present to them.

Subjects do not exist independently of one another. Biology and world history and language and art are all tied together. Student performance is not indicated solely on one metric, either, but across a span of time. How a lesson is presented makes a difference in how a student interprets the information provided. Everyone has a different learning style, so it's important that each student's unique abilities and ways of receiving new ideas are acknowledged. 

And learning is about so much more than just academics! In addition to covering the standard curriculum, we explore the wider range of the human experience, emphasizing the skills needed to thrive in the world ahead from understanding basic concepts of "adulting" to interpersonal communication styles and more. With any luck, we succeed at bringing in the joy of living as we investigate our thinking processes and how we can evolve to be better versions of ourselves a little more each day.

In my lessons I strive to allow students personal freedoms. Learners are treated with respect and dignity and are acknowledged for their expertise on subject matter that may be unfamiliar to me (e.g. Pokemon, hunting, video editing, etc.). I condone flexible options for sitting or standing when working with students in person, and other humanity-respecting considerations.