Philosophy

Teaching Philosophy 

I believe that a learning environment should be safe, inclusive, and welcoming for all students. Above all, the classroom atmosphere that I create should be exciting, and invite boundless curiosity and questions. Along with modeling passion and excitement about the content I teach, I feel that students should have the freedom to follow their curiosities and lean into what they are interested in. This aligns with my goal of incorporating a multidisciplinary teaching style. There is not just one way to learn or teach about science, or the environment. Yet, environmental education is multidisciplinary and learning flourishes when students can connect ideas across subjects and through their life experiences.

I was raised in a family that highlighted science an important part of the human experience, and scientific knowledge is more than just about the actual content. Critical thinking is the foundation of science, and it is a topic that I feel strongly about. Teaching students by letting them use their own critical thinking and individual reasoning skills is extremely important in the greater perspective of their future; as students, as adults, as members of our society, and as the next leaders. As a mentor with the ability to influence young people, I believe that science not only provides important information about our world but teaches essential critical reasoning life skills. In practice, I use student-led methods while delivering the curriculum by asking students prompting questions to utilize their current knowledge to get them to dive deeper into a topic. Most of the time, students amaze me with how much they already know–then, as my role as a teacher, I bring that knowledge into a space where it can be confirmed and expanded upon, by connecting and synthesizing the students’ ideas.

As a teacher, I model that learning is not something that is just done by a superior to students. I firmly believe in being a lifelong learner and letting my students see that I am a person who makes mistakes, who doesn’t know everything, and who is learning too, hopefully allowing my students to be more kind to themselves through the learning process. I learn from my students every day I am in the classroom, and when there are those moments, I try my best to verbalize it to them. Being a lifelong learner is different than being a maestro of content. As a new teacher, it is important to me that my students see that I am confident in the material that I am teaching. Although it is a continuous process, being certain in my knowledge and my abilities pertaining to my area of study makes me a better teacher for my students and my self-confidence as a leader.