Philosophy of Teaching

I believe my role as an educator is to be a mentor and guide to students as they fill their intellectual tool boxes. I do not expect students to regurgitate information back to me, but rather to engage in meaningful discussions, activities, projects and collaborations. I am not here to impose my own way of thinking on my students, but rather to encourage them to explore new possibilities, create unique works, question previously held notions, and discover new things about themselves and the world we live in. I push students' critical thinking skills by giving them room to find their own answers- even if they may differ from my own.

I believe my classroom is a positive learning community in which our members value and respect a diverse range of perspectives and experiences. My classes are grounded in community building and self-reflection, and I provide students with consistent opportunities to work with, learn from and grow alongside each other. My goal is to create a safe and respectful environment, so that all of my students feel comfortable exploring new ideas, concepts, and ideologies with each other that they may never have been exposed to before.

I believe our strongest moments of growth occur during times in which we stumble the hardest. I want students to know that if they fall, there will be a community behind them to help lift them back up. I push my students to be risk-takers and to step outside of their comfort zones by testing new ideas, exploring new concepts, and challenging themselves to move beyond where they currently are- even if that road isn't clearly paved yet. I want my students to thrive in that previously unexplored space, and then carve their own paths forward.

I believe that all students are unique individuals, who come to my class with their own set of knowledge, skills and experiences. Therefore, I feel it is my job to ensure that students feel empowered in their educational journeys, and to use their voices to uplift and enrich our learning community by connecting class content to real-world experiences. During the learning process, I provide my students with choice in how they demonstrate their knowledge to ensure engagement from all learners- regardless of performance levels. Lastly, I encourage my students to have agency by advocating for themselves, and by taking responsibility for their learning as they develop the capacity to gradually take the lead in their understanding of content and development of skills.

I believe the core content we explore in class should be purposeful and necessary to the intellectual growth of my students. The critical thinking, reading and writing skills my students acquire in our learning community are relevant to their future endeavors as scholars and citizens. The content we explore is also relatable, in that my students form personal connections with our texts, and there is an emotional investment in the perspectives we explore together. Finally, our classroom is rigorous in that students are challenged to move beyond their current skill levels and are proud of the complex work they accomplish- while still feeling validated and supported by me and their peers.

I believe as an ELA teacher, it is my ultimate goal to have students reach their full potential and achieve their individualized goals- both personal and academic. In order to foster emotional growth, I consistently implement Social-Emotional Learning and Mindfulness lessons into our curriculum. This allows me to facilitate students' self-monitoring, self-awareness, and self-regulation- all of which are crucial for their positive development. Along with emotional growth, I also value seeing my students' growth in their academics. Although I build off and utilize my students prior knowledge and skills, I simultaneously challenge them to acquire new ones as well such as: literary analysis, analytical writing and critical inquiry.