Teaching Philosophy
Most of the exciting and enjoyable times of my life have
revolved around school, in one form or another. To me, education
is the single most freeing force in the world. No other factor
is quite as powerful in breaking down cultural and social
barriers. My own experience of this is a case in point. Having
been raised in foster homes for much of my childhood, school for
me was an escape. At school, it did not matter who I was or if I
had a normal family. My test was graded exactly like everyone
else's. School was a haven for imagination and learning when I
needed to forget about my home life. This view of the power of a
good education has directly shaped my philosophy of teaching in
two important ways: (1) I strive always to free the inner
curiosity of my students by making the learning process
compelling and rewarding; and (2) I believe in the inherent
freedom and power an education gives to a person, and through
hard work everyone can succeed, an idea that is reflected in my
grading policies and my teaching approach.
My primary teaching goal is to help students obtain the tools
for living and learning that will serve them well all their
lives. As learning is the process of acquiring knowledge,
attitudes and skills through study, instruction and experience,
it is vital for a partnership to exist between the teacher and
his or her students. It is not enough for an instructor to
impart lessons from the textbook, students must want to acquire
the knowledge, attitudes and skills. To lead a student to want
to acquire these things, a teacher must illustrate the value
these sometimes abstract concepts have in the real world. I
encourage my students to always question, not merely accept, a
fact because it is in a book or lecture. I push them to wonder
about the why and how. Perhaps this is due to my own
intellectual curiosity in research in particular that pushes me
to seek the how and why in the world. I thus hope to instill
thoughtfulness and a thirst for knowledge in my students.
Another way to showcase the value of a course is by bringing the
real world into the hypothetical realm that exists in classrooms
through the latest news on a subject area and guest speakers who
can bring to life the materials and concepts being taught.
Merely parroting information for information's sake is neither
conducive to learning, nor is it encouraging of student
ownership of their learning. I create assignments, projects and
exams keeping in mind real world applications of the information
that help students gain true mastery of a subject. I try to help
my students become critical thinkers, a skill that will help
them not only in the classroom, but also in their personal and
professional lives.
Overall, I feel a great responsibility to my students and take
their success very seriously. Their success is my success.
Course History