Teaching fulfills my goal and duty to empowering others. It is a process of self-actualization that I find myself compelled to serve as a facilitator, instructor, and stakeholder. My commitment to this mission has led me to traverse unexpected areas of the world, where I saw the extremes of education between the destitute and the opulent, and how my role surprisingly remained the same despite this. In being an instructor or curriculum designer in English language learning, the humanities, English literature, writing, journalism, and public speaking, I am engaging students in finding their own voice.
To fulfill this mission I have several objectives I abide by in my role as an educator:
Objective 1. Diversity: I view my classroom or my workplace as a circle, inclusive of every degree of opinion or background. Where that opinion or background is lacking, the circle is incomplete. To ensure a fulfilling, whole, and sumptuous learning experience, I account for the creation of a rich and diverse learning experience. Exploration of different approaches to a subject, different processes, different theories, and different reactions are all included in my curriculum design or instruction to expose students to the variety of notions that surround the subject matter.
Objective 2. Active Engagement: Students should be actively engaged in learning, and I rely on several teaching modalities to ensure different learning preferences are addressed in the classroom. The design of my instruction often involves action, that is, engaging matter and engaging learning that goes beyond a teacher centered classroom.
Objective 3. Holistic Learning Environments: What students learn in the classroom should not be isolated to the classroom. With English literature and the humanities, or even STEM, expression and analytical skills should be extended into the students’ typical living environments. I strive to make these connections for students and make material relevant to their daily function.
Objective 4. Self-Efficacy: As an educator, I am passionate in developing students to be in control of their own pathways. I provide the tools and resources to empower students to eventually rely upon themselves in deriving their own ideas, accessing resources relevant to their specific needs, and in turn, evaluating what is most effective to their specific needs and desires.
In shaping students to become actionable individuals in society, the educational experience itself must be actionable. I have designed classroom “social” contracts with my students and involved them in that process to create a sense of shared accountability and community. In writing, I have encouraged students to find their own voice in order to define the voice of a works or time period they may be studying. Yet perhaps most importantly, my classroom and curriculum design, rest on humanization. To be able to study the humanities, students must recognize the humanity of their peers—and my courses are purposefully designed with the hope that more interaction will create positive bonds between learners and reinforce a goal of success.
Write Edit Love 