“It is my vision that students will find the joy in learning.”
Why did you become an educator?
In hindsight it seemed that becoming an educator was destined. Upon my senior year in high school, I was surrounded by phenomenal educators that taught me the value of education and even prepared for college access. My sophomore year in college, I became involved with an organization called College Summit, now known as Peer Forward. Through them I gained the experience of teaching and learning, and really enjoyed the impact I was making. Then, the rest was history.
What do you love about your school?
I really enjoy the collaborative approach that we have to ensuring students receive a high quality instruction.
Why is it important that lower income children can attend schools of choice?
Charter schools are supposed to close an educational access gap for underrepresented families and children. It is important so that students have the opportunity to an equitable educational experience that increases their chances for a better livelihood.
Anything else you’d like to add?
A part of my educational philosophy uses words such as “autonomous” and “investigators”. This particular choice of words demonstrates my belief that education is a shared responsibility. Often times, when talking about education we tend to mostly focus on the adult’s role or the adult’s potential impact of their actions on the child. However, what is missed in most conversations is the impact of the child’s action on their education, and a clear outline of the child’s responsibility throughout their educational career.
In primary education, the educational experience is heavily created by the teacher. As students begin to progress into secondary and post-secondary education, this changes. Students naturally have a much larger responsibility. At what point has this fact been made known to the student? Where have we began the gradual release?
Being a teacher of urban populations, students appear to be less motivated. Additionally, they are lacking basic problem solving and investigative skills. There seems to be no presence of their innate ability to want to learn about the things that they do not know, and yet the teacher is the person solely responsible for their learning.
It is my vision that students will find the joy in learning. Of course, I understand the frustration that may come with conquering difficult concepts. But, I’m speaking directly about the small things such as simply looking up the definition or spelling of a word that they don’t know. This is in comparison to limiting their own vocabulary by not looking or expecting that everything they learn will be given to them by the educator in the room.
These types of initiatives in behavior prepares students for the competitive world beyond the school walls. This is similar to philosopher William Bagley’s idea that education is grounded in the actions of providing students with the knowledge base of civilization. The subject matter in schools serve as a prerequisite to the journey that students will then choose as their purpose and contribution to the world. School is a space for growth and human development through different modalities and opportunities for exposure (e.g. social, academic, cultural, etc.). It is our responsibility as educators to help make this possible
