“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”  ~  James Baldwin

Teaching is my dream job. I love working with children and watching them grow and learn. I challenge them to push their thinking and consider multiple perspectives with the goal of improving themselves and their world.

Education mirrors society, both of which are wrought with inequities. As an educator and an advocate, I work with colleagues and professionals to ensure that schools provide equal opportunity and access to all students, regardless of race, gender, socioeconomic status, or other determinants.

I want to keep improving my pedagogy and affect the wider educational system, and my dream is excellent schools in all zip codes. I am filled with outrage at the injustice and inequity in schools and in society, and I continue to learn about how the current educational system came to be, why achievement gaps exist, why there is resistance to policy changes, and how to bring about equitable changes. I realize that educational challenges are multifaceted and solutions must involve parents, communities, and policy makers.

For this reason I continue to grow as a learner, a teacher, and a problem solver. I have been able to collaborate with and learn from excellent educators and through reflection, I have started on the path of delving into current research and findings, reframing my thinking, and working with other passionate educators and allies to bring about change. As an optimist, I believe that we can still have a better educational system.

In the past few years, I began to engage in conversations with adults around unlearning some of the mythologies of our culture: individualism, meritocracy, and colorblindness, to name a few. I started to work within my spheres of influence to enact the change needed to create a more just world. This takes time and cannot only be legislated. This is also heart and mind work. The struggle to attain equity and equality is real, and while some progress has been made in our country, much more work needs to be done.

As a believer in the American ideals, I believe that I must do everything I can to level the playing field for all students. These are my students, my neighbors, my children, so I cannot ignore injustices. As a result, my teaching philosophy is founded on continuous learning and reflection, engaging in discourse that enables multiple perspectives, challenging the status quo, advocacy, and ongoing collaboration with others to bring about educational improvements and systemic change in our world.

I became a teacher to improve society; to create change agents, critical thinkers, and individuals who will use their gifts to create a better world.