Teaching Philosophy Statement

There are many things I believe about learning. These beliefs have been gained through years of my own practice as both a learner and a teacher. I have observed, taken part in, and even given lessons that have been excellent, leaving learners wanting more and questioning everything they knew. I have also seen and taught lessons that have fallen flat or have been outright confused and off putting to learners. To be an educator is to make mistakes, to look at what you do and ask if you can do it better, to always be trying to improve. First, however, educators must understand what learning is. To me learning is asking questions.

It does not matter what the questions are, or their level of complexity. It is the act of asking questions that is the heart of learning. When we are young, humans are full of questions both big and small. We have a need to learn, a drive to grow, an urge to wonder. However, something happens over the course of our education. This drive in students to learn is lost. We begin to get answers and instead of asking further follow-up questions, we take people at their word, or worse we are told to take people at their word. Carl Sagan, in an interview with Mary Hynes of TVO said as much,

“You go talk to a class of kindergarten kids, or first grade kids, you find a class full of science enthusiasts. And they ask deep questions! What is a dream? Why do we have toes? What is the birthday of the world? Why is the grass green? These are profound, important questions. They just bubble right out of them! You go talk to twelfth grade students and there’s none of that.” (TVO Today | Current Affairs Journalism, Documentaries and Podcasts)

As educators, it is our duty to develop and foster the same sense of wonder and questioning within older students as with younger ones. We should be encouraging questions, not dismissing them. We should never come from a place of authority, instead acting as facilitators of growth. It is our duty to make questions the center of our learning communities, no matter how messy it gets.

To learn something is not a straight line from unknown to know. There are many branches along each learning journey. The pathway is messy, with pitfalls and dead ends. Th

Too often, images and ideas of classrooms are sterile. Rows of desks with students diligently and quietly answering assigned questions while a teacher stands at the front. Learning is far to often shown as a clean, straightforward process. The teacher speaks, the students absorb. This, however, is far from the truth. True learning is messy. It takes energy, effort, and emotional buy-in. It is both exhilarating and exhausting. Mistakes will be made, tears can flow, and sleep will be lost in the process. However, in the end, it is all worth it to keep learning. No matter who you are or where you come from, if you try hard and are not afraid to get a little messy, you can learn anything.

Our society in general, through especially when it comes to math and science, puts a premium on the “brilliant.” There is a believe that only some people are capable of learning and others are not. This societal lie is not only wrong, but actively harmful. Jo Boaler, professor of Mathematics Education at Stanford writes,

“Einstein, probably the most well known of those thought to be genius…spoke often about his achievements coming from the number of mistakes he had made and the persistence he had shown.” (Boaler, 2022, pg.5)

Similarly, John Mighton, founder of JUMP math, discusses his work tutoring a grade six student.

“I soon found out from her principal that she was working at a grade one level. She had a ‘mild intellectual disability’ and she had developed a paralyzing fear of math. After three years of weekly tutoring, [she] told me she wanted to enroll in academic grade nine math. I was afraid she wouldn’t pass the course, but she surprised me by skipping a year and finishing academic grade ten math in the same year.” (Mighton, 2021, pg. 26)

These anecdotal data points portray what the broader literature tells us. Much work has been done in the field of education that point to our ability to learn being more related to our mindset and believes that our mental capabilities. Both these examples are from the world of mathematics, but in general I believe that any student can learn any topic to any level of complexity. It is the teacher’s job to make sure that each and every learner that comes to them knows this and believes in its entirety.

When I look at myself and my history, I see both a teacher and a learner. I feel this should be true of any teacher who wishes to be good at their craft. Teachers should be interested in ensuring every student knows they are all capable of learning whatever they want. Teachers should be willing to get messy in the pursuit of learning and understand the stress education can take. Finally, teacher should be willing to do whatever it takes to make sure that every student that walks into their classroom leaves asking more questions.

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