The above quote, often misattributed to William Butler Yeats, captures the essence of my educational philosophy. I believe it is the role of the teacher not to merely fill students' heads with content that they will inevitably forget in a matter of days, weeks, or months, but rather to provide intellectual kindling and facilitate a learning environment in which students can safely play with (metaphorical) matches in the hopes that at least some of the material bursts into flames and inspires lifelong exploration and engagement. Put plainly, I believe the purpose of education is to inspire students' curiosity and sharpen their skills so that they may "light up," discover their passions, and act to make the world a better place.

In my experience, students "light up" and learn most effectively when given the opportunity to authentically solve real world problems. As my practice develops I increasingly seek to design and deliver learning experiences that enable my students to do just that. An example of this is when I presented my 7th grade World Geography students with a problem that needed solving: every year teachers and students entered our school with very little knowledge or understanding of their new home city of Hanoi, Vietnam. As a result, they often struggled to navigate and acclimate to the chaotic and culturally foreign city. Thus, my students were tasked with creating artifacts that would welcome newly arrived members of our school community and help them make sense of life in Hanoi through the lens of the five themes of geography. The authenticity and relevance of the problem inspired my students to engage deeply and produce high quality work.

Another factor that I have found inspires students to "light up" and deeply engage in their learning is when they are entrusted to take ownership over their own education. When students have a choice over the content they learn, the process by which they learn it, and/or the product they use to demonstrate their learning, students take the learning experience more seriously. While it can be challenging to find the proper balance between structure and freedom in the classroom, I have found that students benefit when I offer a lot of unstructured work time, allowing me to conference one-on-one or in small groups and provide meaningful feedback throughout the project design and development process.

One major impediment I have identified to "lighting up" my students' curiosity, engagement, and the ownership they feel over their learning is teacher assigned grades. For many students, grades are the be all and end all of their academic experience and take precedence over learning itself. Ask any teacher and they are likely to be able to recount a time when a class discussion or activity that they thought was going particularly well was interrupted by the dreaded, "Is this going to be on the test?" question. Similarly, I have found that in their pursuit of an "A," students often avoid taking risks or engaging in divergent thinking. These are necessary skills to cultivate if our students are to have a chance at solving the world's many problems.

After reading Ungrading, a paradigm shifting book by Alfie Kohn, I committed myself to implementing practices that de-emphasize grades and instead emphasize process, reflection, and growth. One such practice I have found especially powerful is to engage students in the process of creating the rubric on which their work is to be assessed. Then, at the end of a project, students self-assess on the same rubric they had a hand in creating. This, in combination with having students answer probing reflection questions, shifts the emphasis away from grades to the students' own learning process. I have found students to be extremely honest and accurate in their self-assessments, allowing me to simply serve as a mentor along their learning journey.

As a social studies teacher with a background in TESOL and previous professional experience as a communications specialist, my classroom focuses heavily on honing language skills such as writing, discussion, and argumentation and debate. Critical thinking and media literacy are also emphasized. While it is great when a 6th grade student leaves Ancient Civilizations class able to rattle off the names of ancient Greek leaders or dates of famous battles, I'm far more interested in whether or not they are able to construct a coherent, well supported argument about the veracity of deeming ancient Athens the world's first democracy.

Collaboration is another skill students need to develop in order to be able to effectively unleash their passions and make a difference in the world, and it is also a process I value for myself as an educator. I provide lots of opportunity for collaborative group work in my classes, and I also seek out collaborative planning opportunities with my fellow educators. I have a wealth of experience collaborating as both an ESL and content area teacher, and I fully embrace every opportunity to work with colleagues to improve differentiation and scaffolding for English language learners and students with learning differences. I am also especially enthusiastic about opportunities to collaborate cross-curricularly to create truly meaningful, memorable learning experiences for our students.

I came to teaching from a previous background in social justice organizing, and I carry my organizer's heart with me each time I enter the classroom. I have taught in extremely diverse contexts, including one class of fifth graders in New York City with seven different home languages. I view my classroom as an opportunity to develop a microcosm of the world I hope my students will go on to create in the future; one in which diversity is celebrated and all individuals are empowered to have a voice. Our world faces so many entrenched problems that demand the next generation of leaders develop into thoughtful, empathetic, and innovative adults, and I consider it my privilege to have a hand in shaping the world of tomorrow through my work with the young people of today.