Teaching Philosophy

School is a vehicle for students to advance their intellect. The school provides an environment for students as they participate in their burgeoning psychological and sociological development. In tandem with curricular goals, education should help individuals garner the knowledge, skills, and dispositions they will carry through their homes, communities, and societies. An education should ignite an ability to self-educate, seek the discoverable truth, and foster a drive to improve oneself. An education should encourage the development of many skills. Education should allow individuals to develop analytical and methodical thinking and creative and artistic abilities. Students should be able to access learning regardless of their habits, style, or predetermined disposition. Through this, students will be well-rounded and recognize equal appreciation for the humanities and sciences.
 
Curriculum functions to provide a foundation to prepare students for being productive members of society. Yet, many educators I work with teaching curriculum verbatim need to be more relaxed and flexible. I believe education boils down to student-centred approaches, flexibility, and democratic classrooms. Education is about the development of the whole child. Through doing and exploring (not through sitting at a desk for eight hours) and interdisciplinary methods, students can apply to real-world experience. 

As an educator, it is my job to facilitate inquiry and self-discovery. A teacher’s role should not be to impose ideas or habits on a student but to assist students in interpreting and responding to the knowledge that will contribute to their individual development. A teacher should ensure the classroom provides an environment that allows every student to achieve their fullest potential. 

Assessment needs to be approached holistically. If education is geared towards developing an individual intellectually, psychologically, and socially, assessment should thus reveal how a student is evolving in all areas. Assessment can reveal areas where a student can use assistance and where they may use their skills to serve others. Assessment should be based upon the strengths and interests of a student, differentiated for all learners, and accessible to all. The option of not failing allows students a safe space to try and make mistakes. Assessment should highlight an individual's ability to understand and apply knowledge rather than how one individual responds comparatively to a larger whole.

I believe in the power of strength-based education to empower all learners and foster their growth and development.  Everyone possesses inherent strengths and abilities that should be nurtured and cultivated. As an educator, I aim to identify and leverage my students’ strengths as a catalyst for success. Instilling confidence, motivation, and agency is necessary to facilitate academic education.

Students should be given the tools of time and energy to understand their perspectives and tendencies better. Students should develop communication skills that encourage introspection. Students should be encouraged to “fail” because failure is the best teacher. Success cannot be achieved without recognizing areas of development. Students should have a classroom that allows them to challenge each other and a teacher who welcomes their challenging opinions. A teacher should exemplify how mistakes are beautiful, teachable moments. Students should face failure and mistakes with each other and not be afraid to make mistakes.

As an educator, I am responsible for nurturing my students' skills so they may succeed in all avenues of their lives. My goal as a teacher is to connect people to their minds, bodies, and spirits. Students should be able to reach their highest potential. I aim to serve my students by demonstrating belief in individual abilities and providing the support necessary to meet academic demands. My classroom is a space for students to study the many aspects of life - both the fundamentals of a subject and how my students understand the world. As an educator, I must assist my students in developing intellectual and social skills that will prepare them to be lifelong learners. For me, success as a teacher is seeing my students understand the academic, individual, and social responsibilities of their studies and the impact of their choices.

If I cannot think critically or appear uncomfortable with challenging the social structures, my students cannot learn how to do that for themselves. I want my students to challenge the dominant narrative that they are fed, especially when the world is confronted with news sources, bias, and incorrect information. If I sit at ‘the head’ of a classroom, I create an unfair power dynamic. I sit with my students, I do not have a desk, and I want to level you a power imbalance; my students are worth as much as me, and their knowledge is just as valuable. They need to graduate knowing their worth. I disagree with traditional assessment: essays and tests are confining. My assessment strategy is not about the correct answer but what their critical thinking skills can show and teach me. The more I educate myself, the more I can educate my students. The more I inform my students, the more they educate their community. Together, we work to find a voice for the marginalized. 

Decolonizing the educational systems in which I play, I am continuously working to confront the cultural dominance permeating our school and center Indigenous ways of knowing. Utilizing critical theory and Indigenous educational theories, I am actively seeking tools to engage my Indigenous learners in a decolonization process that critically examines injustices and inequitable relationships while valuing and promoting Indigenous knowledge systems and sovereignty. I believe in privileging First Nation, Metis, and Inuit ways of knowing, doing, and being in my teaching practice. By honouring Indigenous perspectives and placing culturally responsive teaching theories and practices at the forefront, I strive to create learning environments that affirm and empower Indigenous students while enriching the educational experiences of all students. Education is a vehicle for empowerment, and by putting Indigenous knowledge, languages, and cultures first into the learning experience, we create environments where all students thrive. In celebrating the richness and resilience of Indigenous communities and populations, we create classrooms providing invaluable learning opportunities, connection, and identity affirmation.

Students in the North should explore their learning through Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and doing. I focused my education on Indigenous histories, cultures, and the relationship between Indigenous communities, Southern communities, and the government. I am fortunate to teach in the communities I study and co-research with. My students should be able to learn a curriculum that privileges, enhances and utilizes their worldviews. Students should be able to relate to the material that prepares them for their future by learning through lived experiences and schema. Students should learn a curriculum that advances their needs through traditional ways of education. Community and Elders need to be involved in the classroom; teachers need to practice oral transmission and storytelling to engage students, and Indigenous examples
need to be at the forefront of every lesson. 

It would be remiss not to remark that my development as an educator has largely been thanks to my students. No matter the community or territory I traverse, and despite remarkably high teacher turnover and a general mistrust of the education system, my students have been patient and forgiving. I have made errors in unappealing lesson plans and gotten frustrated, but I have also experienced pure joy, love, and the feeling when a student's progress surpasses expectations. They brought me a bannock, greeted me off the plane, and showed me how to use an ulu and process caribou. They have been my teacher as much as I have theirs.

My teaching philosophy is rooted in the belief that every student deserves access to high-quality education that honours their strengths, backgrounds, and identities. I am committed to inclusive learning environments where every learner can feel valued, supported, and empowered.