“So any citizen of this country who figures himself as responsible—and particularly those of you who deal with the minds and hearts of young people—must be prepared to ‘go for broke.’” This statement, by James Baldwin (1963), captures the essences of my work in the field of education: to be an advocate for equity and to impact the next generation of social justice leaders.
My personal and professional experiences have cultivated in me a passion to teach from a culturally responsive perspective. I desire to create a dialogic space where students can become agents of their own learning who understand themselves as cultural beings and are empowered to develop practical skills around the socio-cultural and personal commitments they bring with them to the classroom.
I believe a successful course is grounded on a structured and well-developed course syllabus. I will develop and provide students with course syllabi that clearly specify the nature of the course, the sequence by which the class objectives will be achieved, and the expectations for the class as a group and individuals. In addition, I will provide an agenda for every meeting and direct students to the
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In my previous experience as a secondary school educator, I found a “banking” approach (Freire, 1970, 2000) to be ineffective in cultivating a classroom of dialogue and self-reflection. My own pedagogy works against a banking approach to teaching by being rooted in relationships, dialogue, and in encouraging students to be co-creators of knowledge. I will use lectures to teach concepts and theories. In addition, I will blend in-class discussions, guest-speakers, student presentations, documentaries, and experiential learning to enhance students’ learning experience. I am particularly invested in small-group discussion for the opportunity for students to test out their ideas with each other in less-intensive