Teaching Philosophy

Education is Justice

I have spent the majority of my time as a student, learning and reflecting on what have been the most impactful teaching methods and what truly makes a good teacher. Education in my life has come in through other avenues as well, life experiences, community conversations, and the act of listening. What I have found is that the most valuable education I received was was justice-based, focusing on removing barriers for all, and with direct attention paid to the way classroom topics impact lived experience.

Therefore, as an educator my goal must be to guide and facilitate learning which can move out of a classroom and into each student’s lives. I understand that each student is an entity that has the power to transform the world around them once they have had the opportunity to hone this power of change.

In order to achieve this, I believe in using interdisciplinary lesson plans which draw strong connections between interacting topics along with student-focused learning methods to build self-confidence,and generate deeper understandings of topics. This gives students the knowledge and skills they need, and ultimately creating a space where education can be used as a site for justice and change.

This philosophy has influenced my teaching methods with the Aves Compartidas as an extension of the Environmental leadership Program at the University of Oregon, as I taught 5th grade students about migratory birds.

In my lesson plans, I use bilingual language to engage students in a way that mirrors their life. Language acquisition in tandem with course content guides students toward gaining knowledge that can be directly applied to their daily life. Likewise, teaching bilingually in public education, which has historically discouraged and punished the use of non-english languages, is an act of justice and reclamation. This practice helps students acquire a sense of self-confidence to be able to talk and share about the class topics and enact change.

Similarly, my lesson plans include hands-on project-based learning in the form of a poster activity that has students add new information every week. Hands-on learning allows students to take an active role in their own education and gives them the foundational knowledge that transcends the academic setting and can be applied to the ‘real’ life, a core tenant of my teaching philosophy. Likewise, I believe student-centered hands-on learning is imperative to achieve change as it disrupts student-teacher hierarchies and reminds students that they have inherent power and knowledge.

A key way I ensure my lesson plans stay student-centered is making sure that lesson plans rely on inquiry-based discussions to relaying information. This engages students’ minds, and asks them to return to previously taught concepts, helping to make those connections apparent. I can tell that this method is successful for my students as they are excited to answer questions, engaged with curiosity, and fine-tuning their connection making skills.

The principles that guide my teaching are self-sufficiency, critical thinking, real-life applications, and Justice- this is what makes me a great educator.