My Teaching Philosophy
Community
Relationship building is central to my teaching practice. The best teaching occurs when the teacher has a relationship with all their students, but also when the students have relationships with each other. I believe a classroom should operate as a community built on trust and care. I think this is especially important in math, because oftentimes math necessitates taking risks which you can only do when you feel comfortable you will be accepted if those risks do not pan out. It is impossible to have a classroom where the students are friends with all their peers, but I think it is possible to have a classroom where all the students respect each other and allow each other to try new things.
I think discussing ideas and strategies with others is the best way for students to think about and learn mathematics. I want my students to be able to share ideas with each other, give feedback on others’ ideas, and receive feedback from their peers gracefully and with understanding. I want my classroom to be a place where disagreements are not seen as attacks, and are always done respectfully and with the goal of learning. By being able to explain their ideas thoroughly and so that others can understand, students will demonstrate a great depth of knowledge of mathematics. My classroom will be a place where discussion happens almost every day.