TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
Theater, music, and creative writing have always provided me with tools to process life and its challenges. Through my work as a Teaching Artist, I have discovered a passion for helping young artists discover their voices, explore their identities, and express themselves through the arts.
My mission as a Theater Educator is to create a safe learning environment that is inclusive of all students—where students are empowered to speak their minds about what’s important to them, feel accepted for who they are, and know their voices are being heard. I believe in sharing power with students in the classroom.
I believe that education should serve students’ and their communities’ needs. Drama provides a unique opportunity to bring students of diverse cultural backgrounds, learning styles, language abilities, special needs, and home life challenges together in a mutually supportive community where students can allow themselves to take risks. I’m especially interested in supporting our most vulnerable students who may not feel like they have a voice in their own lives. Through drama work, students become better human beings—more empathetic, open-minded, and able to engage in productive collaboration.
I believe that teaching is a political act. I acknowledge my inherent privilege as a white person—and as a teacher—and I try to use my privilege to fight for social justice. As an antiracist educator, I’m committed to bringing a multicultural curriculum that reflects the diversity of the world we live in to all students.
I want my students to understand that learning can be a political act too. My goal is to help students look critically at the world around them and figure out how they want to use their voices—and what roles they want to play—in the world. What motivates me most as a teacher and an artist is creating theater that changes the way people think and feel about social issues.
