The Six Principles

Philosophy of Education

Emil Locard, the Father of Forensics said, "For every room that you enter and leave, you take something with you and you leave something of yourself behind." What a responsibility to understand that I am going to interact with young, impressionable men and women and know that on some level, I am going to impact them daily. How, is entirely up to me, but understand this: I may be the One. I may be the One who is going to show them kindness and patience for the only time today. I am the one that with one word can draw them into new heights of awareness and self-confidence and I am the one that will have to speak words of truth that force them to question everything they know. I am the one that will give of my own lunch because they don't have their own. I am the one that will comfort them in times of sorrow and I am the one who will celebrate with them in times of triumph. I am the one they will come to for guidance when life is unbearable. I am the one they will want to see at their games, concerts, and recitals and I am the one they will go out of their way to avoid any appearance they know you when they see you in public. I am the one they won't want to disappoint. I am the one that they will fight the hardest against because they see I’m not giving up on them and I am the one they will show any emotion to because of the trust I have built. I am the One. 

Notice that none of the above mentions how I impart actual academic material, but rests solely on the relationship and trust needed between teacher and student. I have always believed and have proven that if I can build meaningful connections and lasting relationships with my students, then the flow on academic content becomes much easier. They fully understand, that I have their best interests at heart; that I am just as much invested in their success (and more so, in many cases) than they are. Once they discern that I no longer think of them as a data point, but a trend line, they begin to open themselves up the possibility that they indeed can be successful. They allow themselves to believe that, in many cases the first time in their lives, that the words, “my best” is in reach. My own personal teaching style is permeated, steeped in the notion of a partnership of relationship and instruction.

Many both inside and outside education believe that tangible rewards of teaching rest in how many degrees earned, how many plaques are hung, or how many students pass a State Exam. However, for me, rewards are found not in the accolades of others, or the “skins” on the wall, nor the banquets for Teacher of the Year, but in the faces of those who pass an exam for the first time and have realized their true potential. Or when that student who hasn’t performed the assignment in 2 days, comes to tutorials and completes it and then apologizes for his lack of focus. They are found in my students who graduate late due to poor life choices, but lift their heads high as they walk across the stage with a huge smile. It is in the moments after a life altering disappointment when they realize they are indeed capable and of value, despite a failing grade or a divorce. These rewards are not always easy to find. Teachers must not become complacent about searching for them in our students. We must be earnest in the belief that all students, despite their economic situation, their family dynamic, or their cultural dictates, are capable of achievement. The levels will be different for each, but the rewards are no less meaningful.