Jane Gore

Mission

Support life-long learners in their emotional, educational, and experiential endeavors by cultivating positive relationships centered in acceptance and understanding.

Foster a safe-space for open discussion to enlighten one another in areas concerning identity, empathy, equity, and humility.

Inspire others to embrace their true authenticity through learning about themselves and the world around them.

Philosophy

I believe that students should be educated to better understand self and society. My philosophy on methodology is a combination of progressivist and existentialist principles. Hence, I believe the nature of education should focus on one’s individual authenticity as well as real world experience (Sadker & Zittleman, 2009, p. 193). Not only do I believe students should determine their own truths about these two essential entities, but I believe exploration of these topics, identity and humanity, are most central to the human experience and education. Determining authentic beliefs early on creates more opportunities for the future.

I believe that students should be taught through social group work, critical discussion, and reflection. These methods steer learners away from the traditional restraints of the binding teacher/student binary (Collins, 2011, p. 745). This would mean that the teacher steps down from being the end-all be-all, or banker, and works more as an educational buffer and confidant. I believe there is a time and place for teacher-centered ideologies but it should never dominate a classroom. I believe the most effective way to encourage education is through open, empathetic, and respectful discussion and practice. I believe this to be true because all “authentic thinking, thinking that is concerned about reality, does not take place in ivory tower isolation, but only in communication” (Freire, 1970, p. 181). Through authentic communication, the class as a whole can pose thoughtful questions and postulate outcomes and solutions regarding all subject matter.

At this point in my educational journey, I believe true education must require investigation of both society and the self, for one is unfamiliar without the other. Now, I believe myself to be an existential progressivist. I hope to act as an ally for my classes as well as my contemporaries by asserting my own authenticity and truth and encouraging others to do the same.

Collins, K. M. (2011). Discursive Positioning in a Fifth-Grade Writing Lesson. Urban Education, 46(4), 741-785. doi:10.1177/0042085911399339

Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York, NY: Continuum International Publishing Group.

Sadker, D. M., & Zittleman, K. R. (2009). Teachers, schools, and society (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Why Education?

In kindergarten, I was more concerned with learning how to read upside down than I was simply learning how to read. With my pointer and my pinky fingers tucked neatly behind the covers, I practiced how I would captivate my audience. This audience was, and always would be, found within an elementary classroom. I have known that education is my vocation since the age of five. I spent the majority of my educational career questioning the methods of my mentors; playfully and secretly developing ways to make content more exciting, engaging, and effective for a multitude of learners. My purpose as an educator is to inspire students to become lifelong learners by introducing them to the endless possibilities that education has to offer. I hope to transform the way students see their education, their self, their world, and their future.

Educational Experience