I am a first generation college student and, as such, I have always found it very rewarding and gratifying to do work helping many other first generation college students accomplish their goals of getting a college education and finishing their degrees. Because I know how much it mattered to me […]
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I come from a long line of teachers – both grandmothers and both parents have been teachers at some point in their lives. I take strength from knowing the adversities they have lived through and the care they have brought to their teaching. I remember how my dad would give […]
In the Zen tradition, the ancestral lineage is of teachers and students, and today the word ancestor is bringing those teachers to mind, including both the teachers whose words have been preserved in koans and the teachers whom I’ve worked with myself. From their wisdom, and with practice, I’ve learned […]
My mom, who is now in her early 70s, had been a kids arts teacher for as long as I remember. I hadn’t realized how much my values—in education and in arts—have been shaped by the way she treats both. The life and care she and my dad share with […]
My aunt Nancy Cramer, my uncle Chuck, my father James, my step grand father Willis: they were all teachers, and their love lifts me up. They shared suriosity, kindness, and joy in their careers and lives. I feel their love every day.
I’ve been shaped by my teachers, colleagues and students. Their wisdom, curiosity, and resilience continue to guide my practice and remind me that teaching is a collaborative and evolving act. Joy, love, and kindness live in the moments when students begin to believe in themselves, overcome obstacles, grow in confidence, […]
My ancestors in wisdom are the brilliant scholars and researchers who, with their insightful observations and concrete conceptualizations, bravely demystified the world. They distilled complex phenomena into the mathematical gist, freeing us from verbosity and nebulosity, bringing clarity and precision to understanding. Great minds like Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo […]
When I am at my best, my teaching draws on the wisdom of Thich Nhat Hanh, Sam Harris, Joseph Goldstein, and Carol Dweck, focusing first on mindfulness, connection, and growth. I aim to create a classroom where presence, joy, and kindness are foundational, and where teaching and learning are a […]
My mother has always been a kind, intelligent, and emphatic soul who has taught me to look at the beauty in dark times. With her teachings, I’m able to listen to my students and make them feel comfortable in a classroom environment. I love teaching in general. I teach literature […]
My mom always fought for us to be my siblings and I to be educated. I was the first, on my mother side to attend college. As a teen, I constantly help my classmates in math. This inspired me inspired me to pursue a college degree in a math related […]
I’m really enjoy teaching because teaching allows me to share what I learned from my family. My family taught me the benefits of sharing and exchanging knowledge – it’s one of the most rewarding parts of teaching. Every classroom experience allows a chance to grow together. I’m always looking for […]
My first thought is to take this question very literally and respond with my Grandmother. Virginia Alice Adams Moss Middaugh (I…I think this would have been her legal name? She likely took the Moss out at some point but as a Moss who still very much recognizes her as the […]
Two of my pedagogical ancestors are Paolo Freire and bell hooks, both of who showed me the way out of the banking model of education that I had come through. hooks especially challenges me to bring love to learning experiences I create and join in, and Pema Chödrön reminds me […]
Hi everyone, I’m Craig Nielsen, an adjunct librarian at the BMCC Library. Steve Salaita’s perspective informs my work perhaps more than any other writer or thinker. He is a professor who became the target of a smear campaign–to the point that he had to exit the academic profession in the […]
