I believe that education is not simply about “preparing for life”, or as a means to an end in getting a degree, or simply to get a good job. I value learning because it is fun and to me, it makes life worth living.  I have always believed that life should be a constant education.  I teach with the aspiration that I can inspire my students to enjoy learning in the hope that they too will love learning for the sake of the fun of learning.

 

My ideal objective is to guide students to value the ability to think critically and to apply creativity based on logical reasoning to develop into lifelong learners. I always try to build off of what students have already learned and what interests them.  That connection can then provide an avenue for new knowledge and for personal opinions to develop based on building more factual understanding. My job as a teacher is to help students find ways to develop their value for intrinsically self-motivated education.

 

Students need guidance in discussion and debate techniques. Teachers should encourage learning how to properly research by asking relevant questions to structure factual meaningful arguments and theses. I am keenly aware that true reasoning and logic are areas that need to be taught, practiced, and put to assessments for deep critical thinking to take root. I also am a firm believer in encouraging students to read, especially reading complete books, not just internet scanning or selections of texts. Reading comprehension is a major factor in being able to fully think critically, creatively, and reasonably. There is a pride that is often overlooked when students finish reading a book that the action of finishing a book can change their lives in many ways. Additionally, students need to see their teachers staying current in their subject area as well as showing interest in a variety of subject areas.

 

My background in philosophy, history has been focused on building writing skills and research.  My experience teaching philosophy classes on the college level has helped prepare me to teach with the theory of knowledge approach to enhance critical thinking.  Theory of knowledge not only teaches facts but also thinking skills and gives context to understanding creative thought.  

 

Students must learn how to seek out and properly use resources. I want my students to understand the issues, concepts, sources, and content by utilizing all the available tools, be it books, journal articles, or on the internet however I make efforts to teach how to properly use technology as an educational resource. As much as students may have a sense of being "technology natives" they still need to learn how to properly research sources, how to question sources, consider the purpose of resources, and understand how to truly engage with material for proper factual understanding. Teachers need to have the ability and persistence to get students to learn how to focus on putting in extensive searching to get a wide range of perspectives. Teachers need to guide students to analyze information based on logical thinking and critical decision-making. So even if students might have a good grasp on how technology works, they still need to be directed in how to truly utilize it as a tool to delve into material and content. They need a teacher as a coach to assist them to understand how to apply critical thinking and logic such as in building a strong thesis and sub thesis, or how to break down key concepts logically.