I believe that through compassion, empathy and expectation I am more receptive to the needs of students and overall class progression. I believe that these qualities should work harmoniously with one another so that students are comfortable in pursuing their dreams and desires. I expect students to work hard and strive for excellence every time they walk into the studio or classroom; these are our laboratories and should be met with respect and honesty. I strive to have a class environment that is warm and inviting to help students invest in their learning. I want students to be proud of the breakthroughs they make.
One of my roles as a teacher is to serve as a positive influence not only in a student’s educational experience, but life in general. It is important for me to not just be a teacher of a specific subject, but rather serve as an example in the way I live and practice my life beliefs. I believe that a strong teacher should accept all of his/her weaknesses and strengths; this is not to inflate the ego, but rather to be used as a channel of growth. By seeing the paradoxes within myself, I am more apt to seeing the paradoxes within my students. I am a learner as much as I am a teacher.
I have found that in my 21st century frame of mind I sometimes see the end result as the be-all indefinite goal. But I ask myself what is more important; the end result or the process? I feel that the path is what makes the result worth while. It can be easy to put up blinders to what is happening around us. Another one of my major goals as a teacher is to help students abandon their blinders and take in everything they can. I ask them to serve themselves by being filters. It's through filtering that students have the ability to sift through the elements that work or don’t work for their belief systems. I want my students to appreciate the processes that they go through because it is from these processes where we gain our knowledge, advancements and truths.
Eric Fromm writes, in his book To Have or to Be?, about students who take on the role of the being mode "...They have been occupied with the topic and it interests them. Instead of being passive receptacles of words and ideas, they listen, they hear, and most important, they receive and respond in an active, productive way. What they listen to stimulates their own thinking processes. New questions, new ideas, new perspectives arise in their minds" (pg. 29). Is this not the goal of every teacher? I want my students to learn, but more importantly I want them to feel empowered with the knowledge they discover. I want them to feel that they are responsible for what they learn and accept as their own truths. Teaching thrives within my soul and being. I breathe with excitement and anticipation at the opportunity of being enriched by the lives of my students.