Dear Reader,
I want to talk to you about ubuntu. Not the linux system, the Zulu word meaning "I am because we are". To best explain this, I'd like to tell you a sweet, if not a little idealized, story of a reporter who was filming with a group of kids in a small village. When they finished filming, the reporter told the kids that he had a bunch of mangoes for the first child to reach the pile under the palm tree at the end of the road. Instead of racing off, the children joined hands and ran, laughing, to the pile of fruit. When the reporter caught up with the kids, he asked, "Why did you not race each other?" The children's response was simply, "Ubuntu." I am because we are. I am the teacher that I am today because of all the people in my life. My students, colleges, friends, and family all push me to be a more generous, more determined, more invested teacher everyday.
In my time in the classroom, I have been able to boil down my educational philosophy to the following core tenants:
1. A Classroom is a Sacred Space: I believe that a great classroom is not just a physical space that students enjoy but also an emotional and mental space that they enter when they walk through my door. Learning is a reverent act and each student brings a new and vital voice to a classroom. As a teacher, I strongly believe in the beauty of differences and the power of sharing those differences. I strive to give students the space to voice and explore their opinions and the opinions of others, to feel safe asking complicated questions, and to dig deeply into the riches of learning.
2. There is No Perfect Formula: I am an advocate for differentiating instruction for all my students. I believe that every time a teacher meets a new class and learns about his or her students, the board is wiped clean. What worked in previous years may not work with this group of students, what scaffolded learning last week probably won't work this week. Teachers must continue to adapt to the needs and strengths of their students or risk failing at the job they were tasked-- the education of the next generation. If my students fail to understand, then I have failed to teach.
3. Teachers are Students too: "The day you stop learning is the day you stop living." My students may be in the classroom to learn from me but I find that they have so much to teach me as well. Outside of the classroom, I am a firm believer in continuing education. The more I learn, the more I grow as a person and the better teacher I can be for my students. I believe in pursuing topics that are not in my normal wheelhouse to push myself and to better connect to students who do not find History stimulating. One of the best decisions I made in college was to take a Nuclear Engineering class-- I learned so much about myself and about the topic and those are things I still draw on today with my students. I want to be an example to my students for the role education plays in our lives, and I can do that by modeling continual learning practices.
In my time in the classroom, I have been able to boil down my educational philosophy to the following core tenants:
1. A Classroom is a Sacred Space: I believe that a great classroom is not just a physical space that students enjoy but also an emotional and mental space that they enter when they walk through my door. Learning is a reverent act and each student brings a new and vital voice to a classroom. As a teacher, I strongly believe in the beauty of differences and the power of sharing those differences. I strive to give students the space to voice and explore their opinions and the opinions of others, to feel safe asking complicated questions, and to dig deeply into the riches of learning.
2. There is No Perfect Formula: I am an advocate for differentiating instruction for all my students. I believe that every time a teacher meets a new class and learns about his or her students, the board is wiped clean. What worked in previous years may not work with this group of students, what scaffolded learning last week probably won't work this week. Teachers must continue to adapt to the needs and strengths of their students or risk failing at the job they were tasked-- the education of the next generation. If my students fail to understand, then I have failed to teach.
3. Teachers are Students too: "The day you stop learning is the day you stop living." My students may be in the classroom to learn from me but I find that they have so much to teach me as well. Outside of the classroom, I am a firm believer in continuing education. The more I learn, the more I grow as a person and the better teacher I can be for my students. I believe in pursuing topics that are not in my normal wheelhouse to push myself and to better connect to students who do not find History stimulating. One of the best decisions I made in college was to take a Nuclear Engineering class-- I learned so much about myself and about the topic and those are things I still draw on today with my students. I want to be an example to my students for the role education plays in our lives, and I can do that by modeling continual learning practices.