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Philosophy of Teaching

Teaching, to me, begins and ends with honesty and kindness. I believe in being realistic about what teaching is: it is challenging, imperfect, and above all a deeply human work. Every student is different and they come to us with their own struggles, insecurities, strengths, and home lives. Kindness must be what holds all of that up. When a student knows that their teacher sees and respects them, that is when real learning takes place. My role as a teacher is not just to deliver a lesson, but to create a classroom where their curiosity is encouraged, errors are accepted as part of the learning process, and a student feels safe enough to be taught. A true education takes vulnerability to admit you do not understand something, yet. My job is to make an environment where a student feels safe enough to do that. 

When I consider my legacy, I hope my students understand that education is one of the few things that this world can never take away from you. An education can only empower you, open doors and give you agency to make decisions about how you want to live your life. I believe deeply in creating lifelong learners and, especially, lifelong readers. Reading teaches empathy, makes you think critically, and connects you to ideas bigger than yourself. I hope, when my students reflect on what they learned in my classroom, it is that being a lifelong learner creates depth to your life, reading can be a true joy for an entire lifetime and that they once had a teacher in their life that loved them deeply. Because I do love them, and I want nothing but the best of things for them. 

What is your message to fellow educators?

Hello my dear, fellow educators.

At its core, education is a hopeful profession. We hope that all our students pass every exam, engage in every lesson, and find insight from every discussion. We hope that they remember the content we teach, apply the skills we model, and leave our classrooms better equipped for life beyond school.
But that hope often takes a hit from the real world we live in. The human experience doesn’t always come with ideal circumstances, and as educators, we see that reality every day. Factors far beyond our classrooms can shape a student’s outcomes.

There are so many things I cannot control. I can’t control if my students have a safe home to return to. I can’t control whether they have adults in their lives who enforce boundaries, ask about their day, or model healthy communication. I can’t control whether their families can afford the clothes their peers wear or whether they feel accepted and valued by others. I can’t control the decisions they make outside my classroom walls or the paths they will eventually choose.
And yet—none of that is the point of education.

Our power as teachers lies not in controlling everything that happens to our students, but in controlling what happens when they’re with us.
I can control that when a student walks into my classroom, they know they have an adult who genuinely cares about their well-being. I can ensure they are treated with dignity and respect, regardless of the day they’ve had or the background they come from.

I can control that my classroom is a space with clear expectations—where structure gives students safety, and safety gives them permission to learn. I can control that our interactions are rooted in honesty, respect, and tact. I can control that my lessons are accessible, engaging, and thoughtfully prepared. I can make time to answer questions, to listen when a student just needs to talk, and to remind them that their voice matters.

When they are in my care, my classroom will be a place of consideration, humor, and purpose.

And that doesn’t mean every student will ace every test, or that classroom management will always be perfect. Teaching isn’t about perfection—it’s about empowerment. It’s about helping students develop the skills and confidence to make choices for their own lives, long after they’ve left ours.
That is my message to teachers: Focus on what you can control—and make it matter.

It’s easy to become discouraged when we see the barriers our students face, or when our efforts don’t seem to reach as far as we’d like. But we make the greatest impact when we choose to pour our energy into the things within our reach: the environment we create, the consistency we bring, and the relationships we build.

Start with presence. Be fully present in the moments you share with your students. That means listening, really listening, to what they say, and sometimes to what they don’t say.

Create a classroom culture built on respect and predictability. Students thrive when they know what to expect. Establish routines, follow through on your word, and model the kind of empathy and accountability you want to see in them.
Please remember that relationships are as vital as lesson plans. You don’t have to solve every student’s problems, but you can be a steady, caring presence in their day.

Finally, extend yourself some grace. Just as we remind students that learning takes time, we must remind ourselves that teaching is a continual process of reflection and growth. We won’t reach every student in the same way, but every act of consistency, every moment of kindness, adds up to something meaningful.

When we, as teachers, choose to focus on what we can control, we model resilience. We show our students that even in an unpredictable world, they have the power to choose how they respond, how they grow, and how they treat others.

That, to me, is the ultimate hope in education. It is not that we can control every outcome, but that we can plant seeds of empowerment, respect and love that our students can take with them long after we say goodbye.

Because teaching, at its heart, is an act of hope. And what’s more hopeful than giving our students the tools to build better lives for themselves?