Why teaching for me? I am interested in transitioning to middle and high school teaching at this juncture of my career because I believe in the transformative power of education and, in this moment of serial crises (from recent crises of governance to the climate challenge), the need to support young people in engaging society in creative and transformative ways.
What do I believe about learning? The feminist scholar bell hooks has written that
[Schools are] not paradise. But learning is a place where paradise can be created. The classroom with all its limitations remains a location of possibility. In that field of possibility, we have the opportunity to labor for freedom, to demand of ourselves and our comrades, an openness of mind and heart that allows us to face reality even as we collectively imagine ways to move beyond boundaries, to transgress. This is education as the practice of freedom. -bell hooks, from Teaching to Transgress: Education as the practice of freedom.
In terms of pedagogy, I truly believe that a good teacher facilitates students’ critical engagement with the world and allows them to both envision different realities from the ones that they know and to cultivate hope and possibility. My teaching style is deeply informed by participatory and collaborative pedagogy and inquiry-based processes and is one that works to both encourage students to question assumptions and to critically engage held beliefs. I have taught a wide range of students from working class and first-generation students of color to more privileged U.S.-born and international students in different school settings. In all these places, learner-centered pedagogy forms the foundation of my approach to teaching.
What do I expect in the classroom? Please consider the following points that I hold out on a typical first day of the term:
Speak from your own experience and assume positive intention;
Share the air, but respect silences, feelings and confidentiality; Classroom participation is more than just talking. It also involves being aware of others and keeping in mind that discussions are a collective, shared process. Not least, I want us to remember that we are human. There is a social and emotional dimension to learning which we should be expressly aware of.
Respect complexity (develop your own edge but also ask for clarification from peers and teachers, consider “both/and” versus “but/either” and that closure may not always be achieved). Particularly in social studies and history classrooms, we discuss complex, historically charged material that people will legitimately have differences of opinion about. Ultimately, I want my classes to be a space where you as the student develop your own critical perspectives about the world (particularly history and social studies). At the end of the day what matters is you, the student, further developing your ability to think for yourself, in relationship to the material we look at in class, and in general.
Respect and be kind and polite to all people. At a very minimum, I want to be clear about not accepting fights, verbal abuse, disrespect for the person or property of others and being disruptive generally. Though, I want us also to remember the value of respect and kindness in moving us all forward together.
Follow all school rules. This is a catchall rule. We still live in the world, and I expect all of us to be mindful of the rules of the institutions we are a part of.
Schools can still be a place where we open up our worlds! I look forward to having you in class!
Warm regards,
Bikku Kuruvila