My journey as an educator began in primary school, when I started to realize that I learned the most when I was explaining concepts to others, whether in a presentation, essay, or study session. Since then my education has presented me with wonderful teachers who inspired me to learn beyond the course material and who encouraged me when they could have cut me down. I feel extremely fortunate; many of my peers have learned to hate learning. They have been taught that there are right and wrong ways to think, that failure to meet arbitrary deadlines devalues their work, that needing information presented in a different manner makes them unworthy or incapable. No one goes into their first day of school thinking these things, but too many leave school with at least some of these lies deeply ingrained in them.
My goal, as an educator, is to dispel this mythos; I want my students to feel they are in a space where learning is exciting and fulfilling. I want to instill a sense of pride in what they do know and to dispel any shame in what they don’t. My goal is to show students that admitting you don’t know something is just as important as knowing it; I want each one of them to see that not knowing something isn’t a defeat or even a condition, but a transition into knowing, a requisite launch point.
I believe that to be a good teacher is to be an engaged, enduring learner who fosters an atmosphere of inclusivity. I want to encourage learning beyond the scope of my classroom, beyond my capability or expertise. I want to be the teacher who engages students and helps them find their own pathway to knowledge. My guiding philosophy is that teaching must take a holistic approach; understand your students as whole, diverse individuals and make your classroom welcoming and engaging to all.
Julia E. Horne 