Teaching Philosophy

     The following short essay was written as part of my Foundations of Teaching course during the fall semester of 2022 and outlines my personal teaching philosophy.   

         My teaching philosophy is rooted in the reality that learning is an innate human drive and should be fostered as such. Humanity as a species is unique in how we communicate knowledge from generation to generation, making education one of the most powerful and fundamental human connections which has allowed us to flourish. While the incredible adaptive progress of our species has perhaps led us astray in many ways, education continues to hold the key to improving our world. It is in the passing down of knowledge and life skills that the next generation may grow to be better than those who came before them, ideally perpetuating a cycle of human development towards a more just, innovative, and cooperative society.

         “Teaching”, therefore, cannot be merely a relay of information to be regurgitated as a collection of facts, and instead must be a more holistic endeavour of knowledge transmission and synthesis, undertaken through mentoring and guidance in personal development. Critical thinking, open-mindedness, emotional intelligence, and interpersonal cooperation are, to me, more important outcomes than the curricula benchmarks that are arbitrarily placed upon grade-level achievement. While there remain vital standards of knowledge in order to uphold an informed democratic society, the manner in which these standards are met cannot come at the expense of true understanding and personal growth. In this way, I believe the current model of public schooling in Canada is fundamentally flawed and limits both students and teachers from reaching the potential of education.

         As learning is fundamental to the human experience, it is best undertaken in an environment which is closely tied to another fundamental drive: community. Like any strong community, a learning environment should be built on trust, mutual respect, collaboration, and the freedom to explore and discover while learning not only from the teacher, but from other peers within the community. Creating an environment in which students feel safe to explore, fail, and explore again, allows for a deeper level of learning while nurturing the innate joy which learning should spark. The fostering of this type of environment is therefore central to my teaching philosophy and should be of utmost importance to any education institution. This begins with building trusting relationships with my students as a mentor who wants them to succeed and truly cares about their interests. In that manner, I seek to create a culture of mutual respect and recognition between students so that they themselves support each other in their interests. Collective class activities can be balanced with individual differences in personality to create a space in which students can collaborate, cooperate, and create together.

         Assessment is an interesting conundrum in our education system and my philosophy surrounding it is also perhaps a critique of the industrial schooling system in general. While learning is a fundamental aspect of all human psyche, there is no universal timeline for one’s understanding of certain concepts. This is to say, assessment which is based on age or strict grade-levels is a crucial error which limits student development, understanding, and enthusiasm. This goes for student who are struggling as much as for those who excel, by forcing the former to memorize enough to get by (with no regard for actual comprehension) and limiting the latter to the adherence of “age-appropriate” concepts. Assessments in learning should not be rushed, forced, or limited but should come through the natural pace of the student’s personal learning reality. Mentoring and support are the vital teaching precepts in this case, while patience, perseverance, and nuance become values developed by both teacher and student.

While the industrial schooling system predominantly in place does not allow for this kind of flexibility, I still must contend with how to create as close to this kind of assessment structure as possible in my classroom. What this means practically is that I provide multiple avenues for engagement with assignments and activities and allow students the freedom to communicate their understanding in whichever way suits them most. Students are thereby able to engage with content in ways which spark their interests, promoting enthusiasm for learning and creative and critical thought in the presentation of ideas.

         I have so far written mostly on the subject of learning rather than teaching; this is indicative of my philosophy on the matter. This vocation cannot be motivated by an egoic sense of having all the answers for students to listen to and copy, it must be centered on the holistic development of the students who are entrusted to me, their success and their understanding. My duty as a teacher is not to have a class with good grades, nor is it to meet the arbitrary benchmarks presented by the Ministry of Education (though, undoubtedly, my job security will rely on those achievements). According to my teaching philosophy, my true duty as a teacher is to guide students to deeper understandings of the world and themselves through mentorship, kindness, and empathy. Success, to me, is a class of student who feel comfortable in growing from failure, learn as much about themselves as they do about the curriculum content, and feel enthusiastic about discovery through learning. I have also made several comments on the inadequacy of the current model of mass schooling institutions. These beliefs are what led me to pursue a degree in Education and Public Policy as I intend to commit my career to reforming public education towards a system which facilitates these types of holistic development goals.