Philosophy of Teaching

My personal philosophy of education draws upon the work of great philosophers and
educators who have come before me. I consider the perspectives of these great thinkers, as
well as the insights obtained from daily experiences with students, parents, and fellow
educators, in crafting my beliefs about the aims and goals of education. H. Richard Milner has
helped me to center my work on the lived realities of my students, considering their cultural and
community assets, and learning about their identities and the role identity plays in their success
in schools. Henry Giroux has helped me to understand that education should help people
recognize the problems in the world and their personal lives, yet imbue them with hope and
empowerment to address these issues for positive social change. John Dewey has focused my
work on the importance of creating a democratic classroom in which everyone participates,
sharing their cultural values and ideas. As such, I value shifting schools from sites for the
transmission of one set of cultural values, to a vision for schools as a meeting place of many
cultures, where a diversity of cultural values, perspectives, and ideas are celebrated.
Additionally, Lev Vygotsky taught me to envision classrooms where students actively construct
knowledge in community, learning from each other through cooperative, supportive learning
endeavors. Maxine Greene taught me that my role as an educator is to facilitate student
learning, empowering my students to be critical of the world around them and to take
responsibility for choosing themselves their identity, values, and actions.
As an educator informed by the above beliefs and perspectives, my roles and
responsibilities as a teacher who acts upon those beliefs include:
- considering the diverse cultural identities of my students and working together to
construct learning opportunities that draw on the different learning methods and supports
that are right for them;
- welcoming to the classroom adults from the school and home communities who can
share their perspectives and cultures with students, and serve as diverse role models;
- constructing learning opportunities relevant to the lived experiences of the students,
including engaging students in real-world problems and helping them develop hope that
they can have positive impact on their school and home communities;
- building strong relationships with my students, learning about their identities beyond the
classroom, and coming to know their families, communities, and cultural values and
strengths;
- maintaining high expectations for all of my students;
- giving different students the feedback and support that they need, which will look
different for different students;
- reflecting upon the impact of my decisions on my students, being critical and responsive
regarding whether my choices are the best possible for my students;
- rooting my decisions in the goal of meeting my students’ needs and equipping them with
tools to thrive in spite of the challenges they face;
- facilitating a learning community in which everyone matters and supports one another; in
which all students feel confident in their right to learn, to make choices, to do important
work, and to express their ideas and opinions; in which every student believes that they
matter as individuals and as important contributors to a larger, meaningful community;
 and in which students feel safe to experiment, take risks, and fail, knowing that the
community supports them in this necessary endeavor to learn;
- including every student’s voice and perspective into the process of creating rules,
procedures, and consequences; empowering students to address their concerns through
a democratic process; orienting students to each other through discussions and other
cooperative learning strategies; and holding morning meetings in which everyone shares
about their lives outside of the classroom;
- inspiring students to learn and set goals for themselves, self-assess their progress
toward these goals, and take steps to use resources to achieve their goals;
- engaging students in making choices about their learning, allotting daily time to read,
research, and explore topics that are valuable to them; and
- treating students with respect, helping them to become better self-managers, and giving
them opportunities to develop responsibility, make choices, and develop pride in
themselves, their communities, and their spaces.
These are my commitments for my students, parents, fellow educators, and administrators. I do
not take lightly my responsibilities as an educator, and I invite you to dialogue with me about the
ways that I can better serve you and the learning community’s needs.