TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
“Γνῶθι σεαυτόν: KNOW THYSELF” — DELPHIC-MAXIM, TEMPLE OF APOLLO
In my brief but rich teaching career so far, I have found that the only guarantee in the classroom is myself. While I cannot predict the people who will sign up for my course, nor can I prevent spotty attendance or AI abuse, I absolutely can make the mindful decision to set an example by bringing authenticity and empathy into the classroom. The instructor’s attitude sets the tone for the rest of the class, and I believe that my students will generally return the energy I give them. Thus, “knowing” myself — my strengths, my weaknesses, my expertises, my blind spots — has been my guiding principle as an educator.I excel at creating and maintaining an inclusive environment in class discussions and assigned readings, and it remains my ultimate priority to demonstrate empathetic accountability for my students to mirror. By empathetic accountability, I am referring not only to holding ourselves and each other to high standards of respect and compassion when sharing and responding to ideas, but also keeping an open line of communication from student to teacher and vice versa when it comes to questions, comments, and concerns. I do not believe a punitive approach is effective in establishing a positive relationship between my students and myself, so I encourage students to ask for extensions without fearing judgment or pushback. That does not mean, however, that I am a pushover: I expect students to take initiative when it comes to sharing their needs in a clear and timely manner.I am also keenly aware of how the self I present to my students can be confusing or novel to many of them. I am gender non-conforming and disabled, sometimes requiring the assistance of a cane or having to abruptly sit down during class, and this can be alarming if not off-putting to many young adults who have not been exposed to people with these needs. Without sensationalizing my identity, I like to thoroughly acknowledge this at the onset of the semester. I let my students know the pronouns and honorifics I prefer, and why it is a basic show of respect to abide by these preferences for me, each other, and themselves. Additionally, I share what my needs are, and how I accommodate myself; I do not place a burden on my students by asking for specific treatment, but I do assert the need for patience when I abruptly pause midsentence to safely reorient myself, then return to teaching normally. I find that leaving these awkward moments unacknowledged brews uncertainty and anxiety in the classroom, so I set an example of vulnerability in hopes that it will encourage the same from them.Because I believe inclusivity of diverse voices and experiences is paramount in education, my classroom is largely discussion based. Even as I lecture, I only speak in small bursts; most of the class time is spent engaging with discussion questions and activities. I would rather ask my students to write sample thesis statements and workshop them as a class in a more organic way than simply stand in front of disengaged students with a list of do’s and dont’s. Allowing my students the opportunity to puzzle through problems as a group helps dispel embarrassment or perfectionism; they are all expected to contribute, and they are all expected to be tactful in their criticism. On days with lower attendance and enough sunshine, I invite my students to accompany me outside instead for a relaxed discussion of writing rituals, thoughts on a reading we had done before class, reflecting on our strengths and weaknesses as writers and rhetorical analysts, and more. In the first week or so, I acknowledge how the rooms we are assigned can often be sterile in comparison to, say, a high school teacher’s personalized classroom, so we brainstorm together to find ways to create a comfortable environment in the absence of decorations. Suggestions from my students that were implemented include dimming the lights, playing quiet music in the background during class, and bringing in snacks or candy to share.I am a devotee of bell hooks’ pedagogy. With regards to nurturing our and our students’ bodies along with their minds, she said it best: “To understand the place of eros and eroticism in the classroom, we must move beyond thinking of those forces solely in terms of the sexual, though that dimension need not be denied.” The days when I prepared an activity that required students to get up and move around the classroom were the days that they came up with the most nuanced analyses, spoke to one another without guidance from me, and, most exciting to me, laughed the loudest. Knowing myself, and allowing my students to know themselves fully as well rather than compartmentalizing themselves into a bodiless academic machine, has been the most rewarding and effective pillar of pedagogy I have found.
TEACHING JOURNAL
9/?/25Who was one of your favorite teachers, and what made them so great?
My favorite teacher was [redacted] in college. She clearly knew her stuff, but she never made lectures seem like a soap box to flex how knowledgeable she was. Instead of talking at us, she would invite us in and encourage us to try to explain difficult topics (in this case, a class on Trans Theory). She would correct us if we were wrong, but it was always in a constructive manner. She balanced lectures, homework, discussions, and activities very well.Who was a teacher that you thought was terrible, and what made them so bad?
Though I loved him as a person and we bonded a lot outside of class time, I think my high school history teacher, [redacted], was generally godawful. He never made assignments clear, graded turned in work on completion and didn’t really give feedback about correctness, and would open up controversial debate topics without any guidance or control of the class. I took classes with him twice — Honors U.S. History in 9th grade and AP U.S. Government in 11th — and he was somehow even less put together for the AP class! Out of 40ish students who took the exam, only a few got above a 3. He would play guitar and make us watch movies instead of adequately preparing us, but he would sometimes get randomly aggressive and tell us off for scoring poorly on his exams or not taking the class seriously. He had no authority over us, but took it out on us for not caring.Think about a specific activity you did in school where you felt really engaged and can remember well now; what was it? What made it stand out?
In [redacted]'s class, we were asked to break into small groups and design a poster in 50ish minutes explaining Intersectionality. It was memorable because we all had different definitions but she didn’t shoot any of us down.9/23/25Alligators are fierce, majestic creatures. The lumbering king of the swamp is so abundant in the states of Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi that they are considered a nuisance and a pest, though they are equally regarded with adoration by locals and tourists alike. Athletic departments swarm to the alligator iconography as an intimidating and aesthetically pleasing mascot. Despite the aggression they exhibit when defending their territory, they are far more often found slow and gently lumbering about with a gentle smile on their face, conserving their energy for a future hunt.Alligators are silly, ridiculous looking creatures. Seasoned swamp-explorers look at their small eyes and overbite with fondness and amusement, throwing a marshmallow at them to tame the beast. When standing, their arms wiggle at a right angle, fighting to drag himself against gravity. On a rare winter day in the South, alligators fall into a deep slumber under the frozen water, with only their nostrils exposed and completely helpless to the whims of Mother Nature.Mr. Ozyegin is a beneficient, kind person. He sits at his desk every morning with a calm and focused demeanor. With his perfectly ironed suit and coordinating tie, Mr. Ozyegin strikes the perfect balance between being well-groomed and flashy. His perfectly organized papers are no distraction to him whenever one of his employees approaches for advice; they get his undivided attention without judgment.Mr. Ozyegin is a terrible, evil person. He stares down his adversaries and allies with equal disdain, refusing to budge in his indulgent expectations. He dresses himself in an expensive suit, watch, and tie to compensate for his impoverished soul. Behind his perfectly groomed mustache is a mouth wielding horrendous insults and quips, which he utilizes against even the saddest, most devoted employee begging for another week of maternity leave.The sedimentary rock is a blue-ish gray, not unlike the horizon on foggy coastal mornings. It is delightfully smooth, but not round; it is almost rectangular in shape, with one side slightly wider than the other. It is smaller, but distinct among its circular cousins.9/30/25
Teaching Statement Brainstorm
I believe that exposing students to an environment that balances radical compassion and strong self-discipline is of the utmost importance as a teacher.
I like to create and maintain an inclusive environment in class discussions and assigned readings, and it remains my ultimate priority to demonstrate empathetic accountability for my students to mirror. By empathetic accountability, I am referring not only to holding ourselves and each other to high standards of respect and compassion when sharing and responding to ideas, but also keeping an open line of communication from student to teacher and vice versa when it comes to questions, comments, and concerns. I do not believe a punitive approach is effective in establishing a positive relationship between my students and myself, so I encourage students to ask for extensions without fearing judgment or pushback. That does not mean, however, that I am a pushover: I expect students to take initiative when it comes to sharing their needs in a clear and timely manner.10/02/25
Who am I?
What words signify my values? Compassionate, prioritizes integrity, fair, just, casual, playful, leans into chaos, appreciates stability when it is available!I balance radical empathy and (reasonably) high expectations to nurture the growth of self-discipline and autonomy in and outside of the classroom. I encourage my students to overcome their self doubts and jump with reckless abandon at any opportunity to improve themselves, while simultaneously being there to catch them if they fall.10/?/25
Presentation Activity: Comment Key.Formatting:
F1 — Irrelevant title, or lacks title entirely
F2 — MLA formatting
F3 — Spelling error
F4 — Grammatical errorSubstance:
S1 — Adequate description, but lacks analysis of function
S2 — Listing various elements in a row without expanding
S3 — Lacking transition sentence
S4 — Lacking topic sentence
S5 — Faulty/incomplete thesis statement10/09/25
Presentation 1:
What were your goals as an instructor for the semester? I wanted to simply get through it. I wanted to be more of an observer than a doer this semester; I wanted to try a lot of different styles and activities and simply watch to see how the students react. That’s not to say I don’t come to class prepared, but I come in ready to be mutable and flow with the students’ moods and attention.What are some goals in general? I want to be the teacher that students feel safe enough to simply hang out with in office hours (and I am!). I want to encourage people to push themselves out of excitement, not fear.Main things you’ve learned: Most students don’t want to answer direct questions but love open ended ones. Most students like to speak from experience and observation vs from the text or slides.Presentation 2:
No show needs to, nor should, exceed 6 seasons. Supernatural had 15 before they finally pulled the plug. When I was 14, I became wholeheartedly obsessed with Supernatural to a concerning, kind of pathetic degree. I would feign physical illness to my mother to stay home from school and indulge in my clear MENTAL unwellness, watching a whole season in one sitting (7am to 7pm, baby). It was an incredibly formulaic, monster of the week show, but there was an overarching plot that had me absolutely captivated. When I wasn’t watching, I was reading or writing fanfiction, or looking at GIFs and fanart of my favorite characters on tumblr.
I caught up to the current season after just about a month of binge watching 10 seasons. I only ended up watching one season live. Because, for SOME reason, they decided to kill one of their only female characters, and a lesbian at that, gruesomely and solely for the sake of the male protagonist’s tears. He goes on a killing