A philosophy for living, working and teaching

You will find a pretty robust itinerary of what I have done and do on my LinkedIn profile so I will try not to repeat myself too much here. This is really more about where I come from... it is a work in progress so will be added to as I reflect. 

Image sourced from: http://tariqmcom.com/nice-quotes-darkness-and-light-there-are-two-ways-of-spreading-light-to-be-the-candle/

Philosophies: 
About people: 

• Everyone has a story to tell, everyone has wisdom, and given a safe, accepting place to share most people will take the opportunity. We can be a safe and accepting place for others.
• We all have something to offer; we have gifts, talents, strengths. For those who cannot see their own wonderfulness we can hold up a mirror for them. 

This means that positive relationships with ourselves and others is vital to our wellbeing and 'happiness'. 

• Gratitude is a powerful attitude to create more 'good' in our lives
• We are incredible, the human brain is awesome (in the truest sense of the word) and the more we appreciate this the better able we are to use this knowledge to help us in our lives 
• Words are powerful. We need to be mindful of the words we say and the words we think. Education (of all types) gives us access to 'words' and therefore allows us to realise our 'power' 
• We are all teachers and we are all learners :) 

We are learning beings, our brains love novelty and developing a love of learning is one of the best gifts we can give ourselves. 

About teaching and learning: 

• First and foremost we are teaching people not subjects (in every sense of the word!) 
• Teaching and learning happens all over the place... it is not only in a classroom. There are many ways and places we can learn. 
• As educators, our job is to help draw out the talents and understandings of the learners we work with. 
• There is a quote I love- you cannot judge a fish by it's ability to climb a tree. The people we teach are individuals and have their own interests, skills and talents. Therefore the way we teach needs to be broad and varied. 
• We never know where our influence ends so we need to remain vigilant because the moments that make up our interactions with others can form a strong base on which they build. 
• Knowing about the brain and how it learns will help us teach and learn better. 

Teaching is a privilege- we get the opportunity to meet people and help them develop in some shape or form. Through teaching we can influence the future. Teaching is an act of hope.  

My purpose: 

Using my enthusiasm and creativity to support and inspire others to be the best versions of themselves they can be... so together we can help make our world a kinder, happier, healthier place to be.