Philosophical Statement

I believe that everyone has the fundamental right to an education. It is our job as educators to ensure that students take advantage of this right in an attempt to utilize the potential of it to its fullest. We need to model the benefits of life long learning, for the inherent joy and satisfaction that it has the potential to bring. Teaching is the continual, collaborative process of adjusting and developing instruction to facilitate learning. Learning is transformative; it is based on the combination of retrieving previous experience and relating it to newly acquired knowledge. It involves making meaning out of the complexities that are present in life.

As educators we have the responsibility to facilitate an environment where students have the opportunity to identify problems or issues in their world that require transformation. We then need to assist them in discovering avenues to utilize a creative process that incorporates new thoughts, research and philosophies in an effort to find solutions to these real world problems. Students who are responsible for creating their own solutions are inherently more involved in their own education, this is where real learning occurs.

I believe that we need to inspire students to think outside the box, to produce original ideas, and to fuel innovation. In doing so we will model and instil a entrepreneurial spirit and a desire to seek answers beyond those that are required. We need to engage students in the learning process, give up the 'control' of the teaching and learning process and witness what students are truly capable of achieving when given the agency to do so.

We need each other. Teaching and learning evolves through the contributions and collaborations of many. There is value in shared experiences, theories and philosophies. We need to work together to meet the needs of a diverse and increasingly complex group of students.

"If we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tomorrow." John Dewey