What might you do in a typical first session with a student?

I would spen

What is your teaching philosophy?

I believe that education is about preparing students for the world they are about to enter into through the teaching of skills and knowledge, but more importantly, by helping students to see how they fit and what they want from the world. Education is a process of self-discovery that is achieved through exploration of all different forms of knowledge and skills. When preparing lessons or teaching students, I seek to help students connect the knowledge to themselves and their personal interests and experiences. Everything we teach students is only useful if they can find a way in which that teaching matters to them and can affect their lives for the better. As it applies to English, specifically, I see literature as the greatest tool we have to put students into complex real world situations that require them to problem solve, connect, and analyze the situation. Literature allows self-discovery and socio-political literacy to be fast tracked so young people can go out into the world with a better understanding of the world around them.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

Independence comes from modeling your own thinking and providing structures for the problem-solving process. The most common, in English, is guiding a student toward an answer or understanding by guiding their thinking rather than offering answers, thereby requiring them to figure it out on their own. When a student struggles with an analysis, for example, and cannot find the meaning behind a text, it is helpful to point them to important details in the text and allow them to make sense of it independently. Sometimes pointing out connections the student has made previously can jog their memory or activate their thinking, but the goal is to always ensure that the student reaches the intended conclusion on their own so that they experience the success on their own and never get into a habit of relying on others for the answers.