STATEMENT OF TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
STATEMENT OF TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
E. Wilma van der Veen, Ph.D. Sociology RMIT, B. Hon. Math Waterloo
January 2003
My teaching philosophy is best exemplified by the philosophy of popular education where a learning environment is a place of respect; where learning is a collective process in which everyone is both teacher and student; where issues of power and authority in all its forms are addressed; and where empowerment of each student is sought. This is a process of actively engaging and involving the students in their own learning, drawing out of the students their own life experiences and knowledge, and guiding them in new ways of learning and knowledge.
I argue that education is to be transformative. Education is to be consciousness raising through dialogue and action, not monologue or passivity. Consider the analogy of a half full glass (student) of liquid (knowledge in all forms). What takes place in my classroom is that more liquid is added to the glass and the liquid is stirred up (process of learning) resulting in something different (changed student) but containing the original ingredients.
Some characteristics of popular education which are included in my style of teaching are that the classroom is a place where the experiences of the learner are welcomed and acknowledged as integral to the learning process; where the experience of learning does not end at the end of the class period but continues in the student’s life as they are given tools to become active members of the communities in which they live; and, similar to the sociological imagination as outlined by C. W. Mills, where links are made between the personal, local experiences to historical and global processes.
To this end, I have identified four key roles that guide my teaching. Although my official professional title is a professor by having been conferred a Ph.D., I prefer to refer to myself more broadly and simply as an educator. I believe that my role as an educator is fourfold: 1) to facilitate, 2) to motivate, 3) to be a resource, and 4) to challenge. Firstly, I am a facilitator in that I enable learning to take place, bridging the personal and practical to the theoretical, being flexible with different levels of knowledge and experience in the subject matter at hand and different intellectual abilities and learning styles of my students. Secondly, I am a motivator as I creatively gain the student’s interest in the subject matter at hand by providing innovative links of the social issues with their own lives, making the topics "come alive" demonstrating real world situations through simulations, role plays and other interactive exercises. Thirdly, I am a resource as I have certain knowledge acquired through my own continuing studies, research, reading and teaching, and I have my own personal life experiences to draw upon. Fourthly, I believe it is my duty to challenge my students to think critically about their lives and the world in which they live, so that they do not simply accept the status quo and that they are empowered to question and to strive for improvements in the places they find themselves.
Popular education is education of, for, and by the people. I fully support this philosophy and attempt to realize this in my classrooms within the confines of the traditional and bureaucratic academy. My classes become communities all unto themselves albeit temporarily but metaphorically everlasting. I as educator am but one ingredient in this process, one member of this community, albeit different in degree but not in kind as compared to the students in this arena.
Sources:
P. Freire, (1993), Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Continuum
C. W. Mills, (1959), The Sociological Imagination, Oxford University Press
H. Pepinsky, (2000), A Criminologist’s Quest for Peace,
http://www.critcrim.org/critpapers/pepinsky-book.htm, online textA. B. Shostak, (1994), Clinical sociology and the art of peace promotion: Earning a world without war, in Using sociology: An introduction from the clinical and applied perspectives, General Hall Inc.
 | Return to MAINPAGE |
| Return to CURRICULUM VITAE |