Teaching Philosophy
When I was younger, the Bay Area wetlands and the surrounding foothills were my playground. Instead of placing me in front of a screen to gawk at flashing images, my parents carried me around in a kelty backpack through the forest. I discovered how to creatively explore and therefore I learned how to entertain myself in nature instead of playing with plastic toys inside. Throughout my childhood I was given endless opportunities to use my senses to connect with the nature around me. I was allowed to bring home sticks and rocks in my backpack and get dirty. I believe this upbringing has lead to my appreciation and motivation to passionately respect the earth.
Due to the increased use of technology as a parenting tool and the lack of value associated with getting dirty outside, today's youth are not forming deep and personal bonds with the other living organisms that are just outside their classroom walls. This phenomenon is so apparent on the global scale it has received a name, Nature Deficit Disorder. My goals as an educator revolve around on reversing this issue and fostering a deeper sense of kinship between the younger generation and the dwindling natural spaces and the species they contain. The main feeling I hope to convey to my students is a sense of compassion for all living and non-living things they share the planet with. When compassion develops in the mind of a child, perspectives about how to behave in their environment changes. I plan to teach in a way that allows for freedom of expression, while maintaining engaging and targeted conversation. One thing I highly encourage is always asking questions. However, during lessons I will first re-ask them their questions to see if they themselves or a classmate can help them learn before I give my own answer. During our first field trip with Ann’s second grade class the students began to notice that many tall grasses and camas stems had small white clumps of bubbles. While holding a small spittlebug on my finger in front of my group, I asked a second grade student why he thought this bug was covered in froth. Since we he had learned just two days previously in class about adaptations and camouflage, he smiled and said, “it’s protecting itself!” Not only will these students have learned something new, they will also be more careful when walking in the grass so as not to disturb the small creatures hiding there. These kinds of small intimate interactions are the key to reconnecting young people with the ecosystems they are a part of. I feel that the main issue in the current academic system is that sitting in an enclosed classroom for over 6 hours with very few, and far between breaks is causing young people to develop antisocial behaviors. In addition to Nature Deficit Disorder, within schools across the country I believe there are not enough opportunities for students with different learning styles to use the techniques they feel most comfortable using. I fully believe in hands-on learning methods and I strive to create holistic, inclusive and engaging curriculum that allows each individual to feel like they can express themselves. Evaluating students in a typical classroom setting usually entails some sort of written test. From my experience, I know not all students are visual learners and therefore I like to incorporate many options for students when assessing how well they grasped the topic I just taught. By doing this I hope to foster respect between my students and I as well as respect for the natural world. Throughout my time as a team member within the Environmental Leadership Program, my skills as an educator and as a mentor have developed greatly, and there are always more ways to improve. One main skill I hope to develop further is closing the loop at the end of a lesson, in other words "making their learning come full circle". Additionally, I would like to more easily critically evaluate my students without the use of generic testing methods. I found that it is truly rewarding to feel an increased level of comfort with a group of young people by the end of the lesson. With time I hope to continue to practice my philosophies in many different settings so I can gain and give as much knowledge as possible to the future caretakers of this planet. |