McCormac- Statement of Beliefs 2017

Commitment to students and student learning

1. Striving for Deep/Critical Thinking

The critical thinker wears many hats, considers many perspectives, and builds off of and

reflects upon prior-held knowledge, belief and bias. The critical thinker begins with fact and

does not yield to fiction. They only interact with what can be measured, reasoned and

hypothesized. The critical thinker can have all of these tools or relatively few of them, relying

on further development and socialization to compensate where necessary. Shaping minds to

help think critically is perhaps the most elusive endeavor of the teaching profession, and yet it

is one of the most crucial competencies to instill in young minds. In teaching critical thinking,

students must be encouraged to ask questions, consistently build on their knowledge and make

deep, meaningful reflections on their learning. Approached in this way, critical thinking is

understood as a process rather than a destination, a way to pursue interests and passionate.

Teaching critical thinking requires us to go beyond creating engaging lessons. Curricula must be

taught by inspiring moments of wonder by telling stories, leading investigations and

encouraging experimentation and inspiring students to bring their own big questions into the

classroom. Always encourage students to take the lead in their learning to ask, investigate their

passions and challenge what they see, hear and read.

2. Creating Life-Long Learners

“The only fence against the world is a thorough knowledge of it” –John Locke

If knowledge is a tool, let it be one that brings mobility over sustainability. If it is a fence

to climb, let knowledge be the lens to see its structure and limitations. If knowledge is to be
gained through education, let it be taught with deliberate inequality, giving tools and support

where they are needed most rather than where they are cherished least.

Becoming a life-long learner is not merely a habit or ambition. It is a frame of mind, a

curiosity to consider, analyze and investigate beyond what can be reasonably accomplished by

any other. If our end game as educators is to create students who will challenge themselves to

be life-long learners, students need the tools to fuel their ambitions. An individual who is

conscious of their surroundings and informed on their place within it. While teachers cannot

inspire every student, nor attain their goals for critical thinking in all students, it is within their

purview to build the comprehension skills necessary for that success. It is with this thinking in

mind that I place so much value on the need to give every student both the foundational

literacy skills to read and a direction towards their answering the questions of their learning

and their lives.

One of the most productive ways to build foundational literacy skills is by spending less

of our time explicitly instructing the skill itself, and more on the concepts, questions and ideas

that give the skill purpose, that make it a tool in education. Without the desire to build from

our passions, as teachers and as students, we will build fences around ourselves, our thinking

and our potential. These barriers not only prevent us from gaining knowledge and perspective,

but strip social, political, and economic capital away from the individual.