In my teaching practice, I commit to creating both the educational environment and opportunities to allow students to thrive. To me, this looks like a classroom community where all students feel a sense of belonging and their social-emotional well-being is prioritized. An aspect of this involves fostering a community that welcomes mistakes and allows students to be creatively vulnerable. In my classroom community, students are put first and there are plenty of opportunities for choice and incorporation of student interests. Student engagement is maximized through the utilization of Universal Design for Learning and the incorporation of diverse representation and perspectives. As a non-Indigenous settler and uninvited guest on the unceded territory of the Tk’emlups te Secwepemc, creating this classroom community includes addressing both Truth and Reconciliation and Professional Standard 9 from Professional Standards for BC Educators. To do this, I will Indigenize my practice thoroughly and respectfully while decolonizing my physical classroom and teaching practice. I strongly believe that teaching is a power-laden position, and our power as educators lies not only in what we teach, but also what we don’t teach. As an educator, I feel that it is my personal responsibility to teach the true history of this land and the worldview of its Indigenous caretakers. Accomplishing this will involve incorporating place-based learning and also outdoor education–two strategies that typically involve hands-on and experiential learning opportunities. In addition I look to educators like Peter Liljedahl and Adrienne Gear to inform my teaching practice. Peter Liljedahl’s research has revealed detailed and concrete strategies that allow students to develop problem solving skills, particularly in mathematics. Adrienne Gear on the other hand, offers scaffolded strategies, lessons, and storybooks that provide opportunities to develop critical and reflective thinking in literacy. These pillars combined form my philosophy of education which informs my emerging practice as a teacher.
