Beliefs about Education
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This is a list of some of my beliefs about education. It was inspired by a similar long-form statement by Lynn Fendler and by a belief statement at the beginning of a syllabus from Amy Parks . Some of these beliefs have been heavily influenced by others (thank you), while others are my own.
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I approach education with the supposition of equality of intellect: what any human has learned, any other human can learn (Rancière).
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My role as a teacher is not to transmit knowledge. Indeed, all students can understand something without a teacher’s explication, but not, however, without engagement, imitation, and repetition.
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I believe that students are most likely to learn when they are engaged with content and materials.
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I will not ask questions to which I know the answer; questions will be authentic, not a practice in mind reading.
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Students know better than I do what would be the most beneficial for you to learn.
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They can influence the curriculum—keeping in mind that:
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there are systemic requirements which must be negotiated,
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the intended and enacted curriculum rarely coincide, and
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the learned curriculum is often distinct from both the intended and the enacted curriculum.
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I believe that classroom management is not about control.
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I seek to develop a community in which people are respected, collaborative, and accountable.
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Assessments will not serve as techniques of surveillance (Foucault). Assessments offer one way to verify engagement with course materials.
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The bell curve is problematic (Fendler): an “average” student does not exist. No individual will be benchmarked against any “average” student.
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I believe that language is one of the most important meaning-making tool that we have to understand the world around us. Therefore, I believe that language is central how we come to understand mathematics—classrooms need not be quiet.