I spent a lot of time trying to think of a few words to sum up my teaching philosophy. After a lot of thinking, my working mission statement was “Aspire to inspire”. I felt that the word “aspire” absolutely had to be included because I aspire to help my students in any way possible, I aspire to help my students achieve their aspirations. The word “inspire” was also important for me because I aim to inspire my students, I hope they will be inspired to pursue their dreams, that those dreams and their drive to achieve them is inspiring. The combination of these words seemed interesting to me because it combined the similar meanings of the two words. It seemed like a bit of a strange phrase to me, however. It was saying too much while not saying enough.
I thought to myself, how can I incorporate both of these concepts while explaining that I, as a teacher, wish to help my students form their aspirations while inspiring them along the way? I wondered if there was one particular word that could describe what I was trying to say. “Form” seemed too aggressive; I am not trying to form my students’ aspirations, my goal is for them to figure it out for themselves. This being said, though, I will gladly help them find their way based on their passions, what they like, etc. if they are having a hard time deciding which route to follow.
“Create”, just like “form”, seemed to imply that I was going to make their future for them. This is definitely not my intention. Although, “create” has a little bit of a communal aspect. The notion of creativity also seemed intriguing to me. So I was looking for a word with a communal implication that suggested that no two paths are the same.
“Build”. That was the word I was looking for. “Building inspiring aspirations” resonated with me. Building can be done individually, but it is beneficial when the process is done collaboratively. Building requires a certain amount or creativity and personalization to make it your own. Building requires foundational knowledge on which you move forward by applying tools and tricks that you learn from experience. This was the mission statement that sums up my teaching philosophy.
In short, my goal as a teacher is to help my students to start building the future that they want and that they will inspire others in how they go about achieving their dreams and goals. Using the various tools at my disposal, whether it is an old textbook, a new SMART board with the latest technology and laptops for every student, or anything in between, I hope to allow my students to gain and build on that foundational knowledge that is so important to what they do next. This knowledge will be both based on content and curriculum, and on more worldly subjects to ensure they have what they need to move forward in their education, and what they need to move forward in life.
I understand that math and physics are not necessarily everyone’s favourite subjects, but I hope to inspire my students with my passion for these subjects and show them how important it is to truly understand and appreciate the knowledge they will gain from these classes.
Kevin Paquette 