I subscribe to a dialectical approach to education that relies on a myriad of voices and different perspectives in the classroom, and I believe that learning and teaching function best in a collaborative environment that values mutual discovery and collective reflection. As an educator, I structure all my interactions with students--be they in the classroom, in one-on-one advising sessions, or in the rehearsal hall--around the premise that I have as much to learn from them as they from me. In his work, Paulo Freire espouses the idea of the 'unfinishedness' of the individual learner; the constant state of revision that takes place as people continue to develop their understanding of themselves and the world around them. Like Freire, I see education as a partnership between teacher and student; an equal partnership where both parties continually learn, adapt, and influence each other. Education, therefore, becomes a process and not a goal; it is something that is never completed; a lifelong evolution of the mind. As an educator, I respect that process, and I hope to create an environment where students are able to revise and continually form their understanding of the world.