During the past year, I was job hunting. I had left my job teaching French at the end of the 2019-2020 school year because I wanted to return to the English Language Arts classroom. Little did I know the COVID-19 pandemic would put a big old wrench in my plans for employment during the 2020-2021 school year. Instead of teaching full time, I subbed and applied for countless English positions and numerous schools and districts. Thankfully, I will be teaching English - World Literature! - again next year, and I’m very excited to be joining the team at my new school.
During the hiring process, one of the questions that came up the most was: Tell me about yourself. Who are you as an educator? What is your teaching philosophy? It’s always a challenge putting your teacher-self into just a few short sentences, but these questions are so important for an educator. My responses are also important for you, the reader, to know as it will undoubtedly set up a framework for the information I will share here in the future.
To begin addressing my teaching beliefs and style, I first need to answer a different - but very much related - question: “Why teach?” In answering this question, I first think of Mrs. Brennan, my high school English teacher. I had many excellent teachers growing up, but Mrs. Brennan is the one who truly inspired me to become a teacher and who, to this day, I consider my greatest mentor.
In her class, we were challenged; we took risks; we engaged in dialogue. We also knew that she wanted us to succeed, to love literature, to find our voice. This is the sort of teacher I strive to be daily.
In my classroom, my students engage in a curriculum designed to meet students where they are, differentiate to their unique needs and interests, and push them, encouraging them to think critically and creatively, problem-solve, and inquire. I believe this balance between rigorous academics and a nurturing environment is essential for student growth and learning.
How this balance is struck comes down to my personal beliefs in how students learn and the practices teachers should employ. First and foremost, I believe that all students are capable of and want to learn. Indeed, our brains were created to learn and to adapt our prior knowledge to new situations. I also believe that students learn best in a student-centered environment, especially when that environment allows students to formulate, investigate, and answer questions. In addition, I believe that students learn through interactions - whether those be intellectual interactions with ideas and content or social interactions with each other. These beliefs I base on my own experience and a vast library of research conducted by psychologists and educators.
Just as my beliefs are research-based, so are the methodologies I use in my teaching, as I believe that a great teacher is a well-informed expert in more than just his or her subject area. My classroom is a place of student-centered teaching and activity. An observer would notice students working to find answers to questions, accomplishing tasks independently and in teams, discussing ideas with peers, and creating projects, presentations, and writings that express their unique opinions and views.
Finally, it is my firm belief that a teacher's job is to impart subject area knowledge onto his or her students and foster a love of learning. I believe this is accomplished through a rigorous curriculum, a nurturing environment, and student-centered instruction; it is also done through building a curriculum that reflects students and their society and developing meaningful relationships with my students. When students feel represented and heard, they are engaged, and engagement breeds further interest and growth.
I hope that my teaching inspires my students, as Mrs. Brennan inspired - and continues to inspire - me.