Why I Teach

At some point along the way, all educators have to answer a simple question: Why do you want to teach? In corporate terms, we call this our "educational philosophy."

And for me, the reason is simple... I have a deeply rooted belief in the potential of all people.

And to state it a little less simply... My philosophy is this:

Students will enter my classroom coming from a great variety of circumstances. Some will come in happy, some hungry, some bearing the burden of trauma, and some burgeoning with the desire to pour their heart into the challenges presented in this atmosphere where they are safe and where they thrive. Formal education has the power and potential to change the lives of each of those students for the better and it is my duty as an educator to ensure that happens. I believe that true, unbiased, and unhindered education equals freedom. Freedom to choose your own future and chase after what you're passionate about, regardless of where you came from. Knowledge is the mechanism by which we can escape bondage... the vehicle by which we escape doubt, fear, negativity, uncertainty, and so much else... When students are equipped with the tools they need to claim their freedom, to make intentional choices and informed decisions with an understanding of what the ramifications will be, they have the power to change their world.

It is my role as a teacher, to empower my students. To provide them with opportunities – to be a bridge between them and the resources that they require. The young people that flood the halls of our schools are unique, special, and irreplaceable. They all have their individuality to offer the world and it is my job to plant the seeds of autonomy and agency, that they might one day be able to do so. I am a planter, a waterer, and a harvester. I believe that thirteen-year-olds can change the world. That twelve and sixteen and eighteen and eleven-year-olds... can change the landscape of a nation and the pages of history. I hope not to stand in their way of doing so.

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