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Teaching Philosophy
Teaching is secondary to
learning. It's whole purpose is defined by the latter, and therefore
should always keep that objective in mind. That's the biggest lesson I
have learned with the teaching experience I have had. There are many
kinds of courses, and a teaching philosophy should be adapted to each.
Nonetheless, there are some general tenets I believe apply to all kinds of
teaching. First and foremost is respect for the students, as that
guides the rest of the principles. I believe that to respect students
means to prepare adequately for a class, to challenge them, and to
admit when you don't know something; but always find out the answer by
the next class. It also means creating an environment where students
feel comfortable learning and asking questions. I don't ascribe to the
belief that there is no such thing as a stupid question. There is. But
there is something even worse, and that's not asking it. Instructors
should do everything on their part to avoid this. Respecting students
also means getting to know who your students, and adapting the course
material to them and their needs. When teaching anthropology, for
example, I give more attention to details in a class made up largely
of anthropology majors, and more attention to applications in a
class that is not. Finally, insofar as possible, teaching (or rather,
learning) should be an interactive endeavor, it should be interesting,
and it should be fun! I believe there is no such thing as a boring
subject- only instructors who do not make it fun. To me, teaching anthropology has its own set of rules. Anthropologists deal with many topics (race, gender, religion, politics) that are controversial in society. This heightens the need for respect towards students, and for fostering an environment where students feel safe stating their opinions. Second, I believe that the main goal of teaching anthropology (especially to non-majors) is to make it applicable to their lives. My goal in every course I have lectured is twofold and simple: one, to help students see that other cultures in the world are not so weird. Two, to show them that their own culture is not so normal. Cultural systems have an internal logic. I don't force students to agree with what people in other cultures do, but to understand why those people believe and practice what they do. I also try to help them think critically about their own cultural beliefs and practices. To this end, I draw similarities between other systems and their own. When teaching about the old Chinese practice of foot-binding, and the disfiguration it caused, I then brought up the use of high-heels among Western women. While practices may seem very different, the underlying causes for them are often very similar across cultures, and that is what I try to stress with every topic covered. One of the greatest tools anthropologists can give their students is teaching them how to view their surroundings with a new lens- an anthropological one that tells them to understand the connections between things, to question the origin of their thoughts and acts, and most importantly, to be able to agree to disagree with others.
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