"William Butler Yeats had said, 'Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.' This quote is the focus of my teaching philosophy. I don't want my students to just accumulate facts, but I also want to instil the virtues and the spirit of humanity in them. I endeavor to create lifelong learners, who not only learn themselves but also spread this knowledge to others.
While I find it is easy and enjoyable to teach students who quickly grasp the subject, I also put in extra efforts with students who find it difficult to achieve their full potential. Some basic actions that are a part of my teaching is to elicit answers or guide students to the answers that they find challenging. Another teaching action that I employ is to identify and work towards addressing the barriers that different levels of learning ability, gender, race etc. can create. Being a minority in India is something that I can identify with at various levels of my life and so I feel very empathetic towards excluded communities, students who are shy or those who are sidelined and I always try to include them and make them feel belonged.
I use multiple teaching methods like linguistic, auditory, visual and kinesthetic, as I believe that all students have their own way of learning and a combination of these methods makes learning interesting. This also allows students with different learning preferences to engage with the topic being taught. I feel satisfied as a teacher when I see students progressing in their work, overcoming their limitations and coming out of their comfort zones.
I believe education is not only about content mastery but also about engaging and challenging the young minds beyond the curriculum. Students should think beyond the facts presented in books and should learn to question them. I work towards developing the abilities of critical thinking and problem solving in my students. For this, I engage them in class discussions, debates, work groups, case studies and the likes. Not only do I give students feedback but I also seek their feedback. By creating a space for students to voice their opinions, the students become more involved in the classroom. They feel that they are heard and in turn become more engaged in class. This also leads to better learning outcomes.