• TEFL Certification

• M.A. in Intercultural Studies

• B.S. in Parks, Recreation & Tourism

With over ten years of teaching in China, I have worked exclusively with high school and university level students. I enjoy working with older students who can express themselves, including their hopes and dreams. Teaching is a second career for me, having previously worked in a bank for 12 years in the USA.

My teaching philosophy, like my personality, is straightforward and simple with room to grow and adapt. Simply put, my philosophy is to create a safe environment for students to explore and practice without fear of being shamed or ridiculed. I promote this basic idea in class in a few different ways.

In my classroom I use a strategy that I call freedom with boundaries. Having only taught at the university or high-school level, I prefer to allow the students flexibility in class to appropriate more or less time to a given topic. I provide the structure and the plan. However, students are sometimes allowed to explore a different but related path in order to facilitate their ability to think for themselves. As they mature in their development, students need less direct instruction from textbooks. I feel the best way to promote learning and growth in older students is to allow them more freedom to discuss and engage in things they may not find in the textbooks they have used for ten-plus years.  

Another way to create a safe environment is by being real and honest with students. This is how I live my daily life. I do not put on a teacher face or attitude that is different from who I am. This is why I relate better with older students and prefer to just be myself in the classroom. Older students do not want games and fake teachers. Generally speaking, they still want to learn, grow, and perform but can benefit from a change in scenery or perspective. Being straightforward, honest and even vulnerable at times I feel allows them the freedom to do the same in class without fear. For some, this allows them to grow in areas they may not have envisioned in a class geared towards English, history, literature, etc.

Finally, older students will not appreciate the teacher who only stands and lectures from a textbook. They likewise will not respect the teacher who is laissez-faire and just trying to be the cool teacher who doesn’t push them to strive to be better. In both cases they will disconnect and focus on “more important subjects.” My goal as a teacher is to fall in that gray area in the middle. I have high standards for my students; encouraging them to test well and place well. However, I am also quick to remind them that one test or one class does not define them as a person. It is a delicate balance.

My teaching philosophy is to encourage students to be better people in both academics and life by providing a safe haven to practice and hone their skills. My philosophy is also a work in progress. Perhaps the greatest room for growth and improvement in my teaching philosophy lies in what I also feel is the greatest strength… its simplicity. With continued personal growth, the input of others and through more sustained experience, I expect and embrace the changes I know can be made to improve overall learning in my classroom.

My two hobbies are video games and watching NHL ice hockey. I am a quiet, introverted person who prefers to avoid crowds and noisy locations. To me, the most important things in life are being an honest, moral person and being in love; everything else pales in comparison.