Philosophy of Education –

Our philosophy of education is grounded on the principle that knowledge is power. As English educators of urban youth, we plan to go beyond the mechanics of reading and writing to push for a deeper understanding of self and society. The students will leave the classroom feeling empowered to enact change in their communities. Knowledge provides the tools one needs to break free from the oppression and discrimination due to race, gender and social class.

As  firm believers in the critical literacy perspective of Paulo Freire, students will learn to think and act reflectively, not simply read the lines on a page. We want students to understand the society at large, so that they can prepare themselves to make change. Our instructional strategies are not geared towards memorization and recall, but rather analytical and investigative thinking.

We have an unconditional positive regard for all of the students and believe that each and every one of them is fully capable of success. Success is not measured in our eyes by high standardized test scores or conditioned good behavior in the classroom. Success is the ability to take the information learned and apply it to self development. The leaders that emerge from my classroom will have high academic self-concepts, strong ethnic pride and an intrinsic motivation for learning. These are the students that will change the world. We can only provide the knowledge; the students must effectively learn to use their power!