Teaching is truly a way of life for me. I believe in teaching the whole person, and in making my course content meaningful and relatable to students. As a scholar and an educator, I see the need to bridge communities both within and outside the walls of campus. When I teach, I strive to get students to consider the outside world as an extension of the classroom. It is only when they see the topics we discuss in class as being relevant in their own lives and the lives of people around them, that they begin to feel a sense of purpose and connectedness to both local and global struggles for justice. It is my philosophy that students should be equipped with the tools, as well as the space, to let their talents shine.
When asked what it is that I teach, I typically respond by saying, “ I teach Humanities through an Ethnic Studies lens.” I bring all my funds of knowledge to my teaching practice, including but not limited to, my training as an Ethnic Studies scholar and teacher. In my capacity as an educator, I have worked with many students over the years to hone their critical reading and writing skills, helping them recognize that literary expressions provide very powerful tools of communication and self-identification.
My pedagogy and my leadership are centered on individual and communal empowerment. In order for students and instructors to feel empowered, they must make the transition from consumers of knowledge to producers of knowledge. To foster this confidence within my students, I first expose them to diverse epistemologies. Then, I provide them with the skills to research, analyze, interpret, and apply this knowledge. Lastly, I give them the space to discover and develop their unique intellectual voices. I welcome their ideas and encourage them to collaborate and exchange with their fellow scholars-in-training. I emphasize a community of respect among my students and encourage them to build on each other’s ideas and work together as a team to workshop any obstacles or challenges they might encounter.
In every course I teach, I always underscore the importance of utilizing critical thinking skills, challenging my students to recognize their own subjectivities and privileges, as well as finding the possibilities for coalition-building with groups whose experiences are different but not unrelated to their own. It is crucial that all students be provided with adequate guidance to help them further develop the voices they already possess, sharpen the skills they bring from experience, and provide them with new ways of looking at the world and themselves. It is only through engaging a variety of methods, perspectives, and communities that we will achieve truly transformative education.
When asked what it is that I teach, I typically respond by saying, “ I teach Humanities through an Ethnic Studies lens.” I bring all my funds of knowledge to my teaching practice, including but not limited to, my training as an Ethnic Studies scholar and teacher. In my capacity as an educator, I have worked with many students over the years to hone their critical reading and writing skills, helping them recognize that literary expressions provide very powerful tools of communication and self-identification.
My pedagogy and my leadership are centered on individual and communal empowerment. In order for students and instructors to feel empowered, they must make the transition from consumers of knowledge to producers of knowledge. To foster this confidence within my students, I first expose them to diverse epistemologies. Then, I provide them with the skills to research, analyze, interpret, and apply this knowledge. Lastly, I give them the space to discover and develop their unique intellectual voices. I welcome their ideas and encourage them to collaborate and exchange with their fellow scholars-in-training. I emphasize a community of respect among my students and encourage them to build on each other’s ideas and work together as a team to workshop any obstacles or challenges they might encounter.
In every course I teach, I always underscore the importance of utilizing critical thinking skills, challenging my students to recognize their own subjectivities and privileges, as well as finding the possibilities for coalition-building with groups whose experiences are different but not unrelated to their own. It is crucial that all students be provided with adequate guidance to help them further develop the voices they already possess, sharpen the skills they bring from experience, and provide them with new ways of looking at the world and themselves. It is only through engaging a variety of methods, perspectives, and communities that we will achieve truly transformative education.