Philosophy of Teaching

“The classroom, with all its limitations, remains a location of possibility. In that field of possibility we have the opportunity to labor for freedom, to demand of ourselves and our comrades, an openness of mind and heart that allows us to face reality even as we collectively imagine ways to move beyond boundaries, to transgress. This is education as the practice of freedom,” bell hooks. When I read bell hooks I get new beliefs about teaching and a clearer vision that helps improve my beliefs on teaching. As a teacher, I don’t stop learning and I never give up. Students’ livelihoods are on the line and that is why teaching is always about the student. Ultimately that is my belief about teaching and it influences the vision I have for my classroom.

At Brown Summer Highschool (BSHS), visitors feel love, respect, joy and community when they enter my classroom. That is what I feel for my students and what my students have shown me and each other, therefore I believe that is what is present in the classroom. Ideally visitors should see students engaged in group work, peer discussions and whole group discussions. Peer sharing is essential especially if students are expected to share out. My team teacher and I both make sure that if we call on students, they must have had time to write and/or speak with a peer. In the three days that I led class, I tried to practice direct teacher presentation with guided worksheets, followed by group discussions. I recognized that I still need to improve on making lecturing interactive and effective. Nonetheless, it is my belief that a teacher should not lecture for more than 15 minutes at once, especially if students weren't given enough time to process and digest the material. In prior teaching experiences, it was ultimately project-based learning, where students worked each day on a final project, therefore my classroom was filled with group discussions and crafts.

At BSHS, I have been able to implement better my vision of teaching especially, because I have learned about Picower’s Social Justice Elements, Ginwright’s radical healing framework and Ladson-Billings’ culturally relevant pedagogy. Learning about these frameworks have helped me really think about the relationships I am forming with students and the relationships being built between them. In my class, that has been most evident in the community building activities and breaks. The community building activities have always had an element of “getting to know each other” so students feel comfortable in their space and are able to get to know the people in the room. This becomes more evident in break time when students themselves form games where everyone is involved. When they see a student not involved, they either ask them if they want to join in on the game personally or they just talk to them. When Matt and I were able to see the community environment we have helped create was during lunch, when all our students ate together.

Moreover, the relationships, respect and love they have built with one another has allowed for our classroom activities such as Gallery Walks, Final Word, whole group discussions, and Socratic Seminars run smoothly. There are some students who prefer working in smaller groups or individually so we make sure our classroom has different access points for different students to feel comfortable and ownership of their class and learning. In these different activities we have seen students be able to use the vocabulary words in class. They have also allowed us to see which activities students feel more comfortable and successful in. Our students are visual learners, so we make sure to have scaffolding techniques that include visuals to help students who have difficulty analyzing readings. We have also seen students thrive and self-facilitate in group discussions which we have enjoyed to see.

Ultimately, my role as a teacher is to dream and imagine my students beyond their oppressive circumstances, but most importantly to help them dream and imagine. I believe that a teacher needs to be aware of their positionality in the classroom, learn how to build unique relationships with students, and most importantly know how to apologize and act upon it. Students deserve great teachers and teachers who can admit to their wrongs and try to repair any damage created. Teachers have the responsibility to help students build the bridges they need with school and their community and their family. I believe teaching is not about the teacher, but about the students and that’s what makes this job lifelong, because each student has different needs, struggles, traumas, and triggers. I hope to become a teacher students love, enjoy talking to and being with, but also know that she has high expectations for them and expects them to dream.