Philosophy

Earlier I wrote a short piece entitled "Why I Teach," which is sort of a teacher philosophy statement, but my philosophy of education is different - more centered on the big picture. So I would say right now that my philosophy of education is something like this: Education is a fluid process in which students learn how to comprehend blocks of knowledge and then put the blocks together in ways that improve overall understanding. A teacher helps in this process by modeling ways in which to learn the blocks of knowledge, and then modeling the scaffolding of knowledge into understanding. This teacher must balance knowledge of subject material and technology, and be willing to challenge students to scaffold understanding for themselves. Ultimately, it is most important that students leave a class with broad understandings of themes and ideas, and a like, if not a passion, for a subject.