Philosophy of Teaching
My philosophy towards education stems from three factors: 1) ensuring a safe and fair space for children to learn, 2) fostering confidence and 21st-century skills through research-based practices, and 3) promoting growth and autonomy for students to achieve their following goals.
In my classroom, I tend to think of my students as a family and build trusting relationships that last a long time. However, a community is between students and teachers and between parents and other teachers. Therefore, I try to build solid and responsible relations between my co-workers and parents by keeping them informed and having an open line of communication. A great example of this is I have students I met in 2009 when they were in 6th grade, and they still ask for my advice or connect with me even after they have graduated university.
Education is much like pop culture, where fads come and go. I follow what has been proven through empirical research studies in my classroom, so I never experiment with children’s education. The practice of using proven methods stems from my background work on my doctor of education degree from Johns Hopkins University. My pedagogy is heavily influenced by the social-constructivist approaches of Piaget and Vygotsky. We as humans are social creatures, and learning does not occur in a vacuum but through collaborative practices. Thus, joint student-centered activities and learning through peers play a crucial role in my classroom.
As an educator, I am responsible for preparing students for the next step and beyond my classroom. Therefore, I use more authentic learning and problem-based activities in my classroom that prepare students for their next grade and knowledge and skills they can apply in their daily lives. A great example of real-world learning I created is the lessons where students research citizens whose rights have been ignored and practice writing actual letters to government officials to persuade them to give these citizens a fair trial or clemency. Students can connect that every voice matters no matter how young they are by viewing peers like Malala Yousafzai and Greta Thunberg and promoting freedom by being a political advocate for previously ignored voices.
I try to promote life-long learning in my students by leading by example. Whenever there is a challenge or something I do not know, I investigate, attend a workshop, or take a course to build knowledge and self-efficacy, proven factors of student achievement and learning outcome growth. I hope this paints a more precise portrait of my vision for education, and we can lead together.
