An answer to a prayer I didn't even pray.

Here's how a doctorate works: You get an assistantship, you do some work for your department, they give you a stipend to live on, and after a specified amount of years: it runs out.

"Ran out" was my official status as of May, but "Still trying to write that dang dissertation" was running a parallel track.  Hence, I came up with a plan that involved accompanying singers and bringing in whatever income I could.  It was unstable and unpredictable, but I trusted that God would provide for my needs.

Until one day, when I found an unexpected job notice in the mail room printer, and--unexpectedly--decided to apply.  At first I thought "Might as well try for it", but as I got my application materials together I thought "There's no way I'm not going to at least get an interview"--because this job seemed designed just for me.

An "Instructional Consultant" position at The Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence at Penn State, the job involves consulting with any faculty member or teaching grad student who wants some teaching resources as well as conducting workshops on various topics within the realm of teaching.

Since I love teaching, and I love talking about teaching, this job seemed to be a perfect fit.  Apparently the people making the hiring decisions thought so too, because?

I start today.

And--since I'm still kind of surprised by this turn of events, and by God's provision beyond what I even asked for--I figured I'd post here the teaching philosophy I wrote for my application, as a reminder that teaching and talking about teaching is a way to love the people brought into our classrooms and that this is what I love to do.

Philosophy of Teaching

The questions I ask myself when considering this teaching philosophy are the same questions I encourage my students to ask themselves during the time they spend in my class.  Who am I? What is important to me? What can my contribution be in this role and in this community of learning?

Who am I?

Since my self-definition remains the same whether I am inside or out of my classroom, it is important to me that I offer my students my genuine self at each step of our journey together.  As such, I cannot help but position myself to be a listener, a thinker, and an asker of questions when engaging with my students.  I am inspired by creativity and by possibility; when an unknown answer to the question we are seeking together as a class dangles itself before us, I am led into discovery with wide-eyed wonder.  I am thrilled by the pursuit of knowledge, and the inevitable change that defines all learning.

What is important to me?

I believe that the best learning happens in a safe environment, and so I insist that my classroom be a place where each student is honored for who he or she is.  Within the community that we are given on day one of class, we build a network of relationship and trust where each student has a valuable and valid contribution to make, whatever it may be.  I believe in a discovery-oriented and flexible learning atmosphere where the evolution of ideas and the working out of unformed thoughts is more important than listening to, memorizing, or even achieving ‘right answers’.  Education draws on and influences all of life, and so most important to me is that my students are thinking, and that I am equipping them to think.

What is my contribution?

As the ‘teacher’ in this classroom, I value my experience with the subject matter.  I also value my variety of life experiences, which enable me to speak broadly and deeply into the life occurring within the space of our classroom.  I consider my role to be less about depositing knowledge, and more about knowledgeably guiding the discussion happening within the group.  I view myself as a facilitator, but also as a participant, exploring and discovering alongside my students as we open doors together.  Ultimately, I aim to stimulate their thinking, respond to their thoughts and questions, and scaffold their experiences appropriately.

In summary, my teaching is rooted in the philosophy that knowledge is gained through process within a community of learners.  As the facilitator of the community, my role is to engage in the process and to equip my students with the tools for life-long and self-motivated learning.