Margaret Youmans

PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION

“Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope. Nothing which is true and beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore we must be saved by faith. Nothing we do, however virtuous

can be accomplished alone; therefore we are saved by love.”

–Reinhold Niebuhr; The Irony of American History, 1952

For me, the two most important goals of teaching are to foster empathy and hope. In order for students and teachers to build positive relationships, empathy is a necessary ingredient. We start by paying attention and listening. We try to always follow through. In conversation we tell our stories, ask questions, consider new ideas, and compromise. As we create possibilities for risk taking, creative leaps and new discoveries help us see one another in more truthful and responsible ways.

Good educators develop working partnerships with students so that they take greater ownership in their education. A strong foundation in reading, writing, and mathematics should be enhanced through social studies curriculum. I also value curriculum that allows for creativity and reflection, which helps students build on their own ideas and grapple with solutions, rather than relying on given answers.

My goal is to ask questions that get students asking questions themselves. I believe that good teaching fosters curiosity and helps children stretch beyond what they first imagined, or considered––so they want to visit libraries, join arts organizations, design a bridge, seek out interesting people who are different from themselves, perhaps go to college, and maybe teach others something they have learned.

I like teaching because, first, I like kids. They are my best teachers. They make me laugh, surprise me, and help me be a better friend, daughter, sister, and citizen. I don’t think we give young people enough credit for being valuable. I love that they have not been on the planet as long as others, and because of this, they are more honest and original.

The most important way to help children learn is to model positive learning. I follow through consistently, honor fair play and respect, and demonstrate that rebounding from mistakes, and asking for help is the best it gets. I love to learn and I think I demonstrate these abilities. I am energetic, need to move, like to laugh, and enjoy the goofiness of kids. I like the security of learning the rules to a game, creating a rubric for an assignment, or planning a schedule. I also appreciate the freedom to break the rules and see what happens. I think this is true for most kids to learn successfully. The capacity to combine structure with flexibility, pace interventions, bend at important moments, practice patience, and inspire trust is critical.

In every learning environment, there needs to be high expectations for students and teachers, and systems in place to support them. Teachers can be motivating vehicles of important daily learning when they adapt old templates of school instruction to new student populations, in addition to organizational changes and dynamic communities.

Brazilian educator Paulo Freire discusses schools as entities looking out to the community’s needs and resources. It is important to recognize the potential reciprocity between the two, so curriculums can be created that mutually benefit both. I believe that as communities change, so should schools. In social studies, we cannot help but look out the window at the changing landscapes. The study of history, geography, world populations and cultures challenges assumptions, widens perspectives, and encourages critical thinking. There are possibilities within social studies to reinterpret the past and re-imagine the future. It gives me hope that we can help students learn how to practice this. I find social studies most engaging when its applications extend to language arts, the natural sciences, mathematics, and other languages. The more students can make connections between content areas, the more they are likely to understand why school has relevance to their lives.

One of my strongest assets as a teacher will be my ability to seek out differences, make connections to commonalities, and stimulate dialogue that encourages respect for colliding personalities, cultures, and views. I like surprising and being surprised and have a strong regard for how much it takes a supportive community to help people practice these critical social skills. Helping children embrace differences begins with motivating them to want to learn about people that are different from them. Rigorous academic experiences that validate and affirm each individual are central to helping kids build an internal frame of reference about who they want to become and how they will to contribute to their communities.

For me, teaching is one way to do honorable work. Together with students, I try to transform spaces we inhabit into places we share so that the seeds for participation in an enlarged sphere have the chance to grow. This is fostering good citizenship––teaching students why and how they can decide to participate. My goal is to help students see the world as it is, encourage them to press forward, paint a brighter picture, and welcome change.