Teaching Philosophy

My philosophy of teaching is much like the way I looked at sales; removing obstacles.  I was trained to make it easier to buy from me- overcome objections, say yes to customers, take away every reason they have for not buying from you then and there.  If you can do that, and actually look out for the customer’s best interest- do what’s best for the customer, you are a master salesperson.

And so I look at teaching as a way at removing obstacles to learning.  Make it easier to learn.  Make it more interesting to learn- so interesting, that the students want to learn- to learn more, about a given subject. (See, there’s rule #63 again!)

But even Village School’s system calls for students to succeed, at learning, to perform at a passing level.  And so part of being the best teacher you can be means making it easier for students to succeed at learning; the opposite, really, of many traditional schools; pop (surprise) quizzes, strict deadlines, points off for spelling mistakes, etc.

Convey the love.  When you get to teach about things you feel passionately about, I think it shows, and the enthusiasm spreads, and the class elevates.  When this happens, even the non-believers are brought along for the ride, and I think getting these non-believers to enjoy the ride they were forced to take is the highest form of Teaching.