Educational Philosophy

First and foremost, students need to be loved. As the Dalai Lama once said, “when educating the minds of our youth, we must not forget to educate their hearts.” They need, and deserve, to have a teacher who accepts them for who they are and works with them through the baggage that they bring in. They need to trust their teacher, their classmates, and the system. They need to have someone who is fighting for them every second of the day, even after the school day has ended. They need to come to school and feel as though it is an extension of their family. Once they feel this love and recognize that they are valued and safe, they are far more willing to take risks in their learning. They will challenge themselves, look back and see their teacher and classmates cheering for them on the sideline, and continue to try harder. This opens up the door to so many more possibilities and deeper learning that all stems from love.

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As a society we need to dedicate our time, energy, and resources to education. We all need to be working together to ensure that students are coming to school every day, well rested and fed. If students are not fed then we need to be providing that for them. Students are coming in with far more baggage than ever before as mental health disorders are on the rise. We need to address this immediately and help them, as well as teachers, navigate. Teachers need to make sure that what we start in the classroom is just a spark of curiosity that continues to grow outside of the classroom and that the learning doesn’t stop when the last bell rings. We all – teachers, administrators, politicians – need to start every decision with the question, “does it benefit the students?” If the answer isn’t an immediate yes, then we need to hold on the decision. 

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I believe that we also need to be transparent and honest in our communication with all stakeholders. In the classroom this would look like teachers making clear connections for the students to see how what they are learning will influence them in other parts of their lives. We need to be prepared to have difficult conversations with colleagues, parents, and the community as it is important that we get to the core and then work together to collaborate and make the adjustments that are needed. We also need to be transparent when we communicate the “why” behind the decisions. I believe that in doing so we will create a system of trust, which will propel education even further.