I believe that, as Kierkegaard stated in The Point of View on My Work as an Author, “to be a teacher is truly to be the learner” (91). It is not only important for me to constantly broaden and deepen my knowledge and exposure to historical narratives, artifacts, and academic research. It is also crucial that I take on the role of fellow pupil, learning about new perspectives from students as they react to new information and seeking to understand their circumstances, presuppositions, and beliefs in order to meet students where they are. By doing so, it becomes possible to break down barriers and encourage students to bring their authentic selves to class. When they are free to be themselves and to exercise choice regarding both tasks and subject matter, students become more engaged and more motivated to bring their best selves to their work. In my classrooms, I welcome dissent as it promotes memorable and impactful debates amongst and between students (and also me). I believe that it is important to present a variety of perspectives, teach students how to digest material, and equip them with the analytical and critical thinking skills required to come to their own conclusions about course content. Then, I give them opportunities to exercise their ability to articulate those conclusions through different modes, ranging from traditional research papers and reflective journaling to creative synthesis via video presentations and illustrated research papers. This way, students have the opportunity to shine through a mode that best suits them or to work to develop skills that do not come as naturally.

My in-person classes begin and end with self-reflection assignments in which students articulate their goals for the term and assess whether they have accomplished those goals through the course. Similarly, while measuring performance against a well-constructed rubric is important in assessing student success, I also provide students with a self-evaluation survey after every major assignment. I find that when scoring their own work against that rubric, students can be more critical in some ways than I am. This exercise also gives pupils the opportunity to compare their perception of their work to my perspective. This aids in developing reflective habits that may help them receive feedback more gracefully and constructively in the future. Additionally, I like to facilitate peer-review opportunities and writing circles for my students whenever a lengthy research paper is central to a course. In some classes, I have found that mandatory one-on-one time in office hours works wonders to establish trust, identify strengths and weaknesses, and provide tailored feedback and suggestions early on. It also provides a forum for students who are too shy or require more time to process a topic to voice their questions and concerns and to assert their opinions in a more intimate environment.

One of my favorite but also most perplexing and difficult assignments as a student was a ‘reflective synthesis video.’ Not only did I need to regurgitate information learned over the course of the term. I also had to consider how I felt in response to that material and how I changed or developed as a person through my study in the class. This kind of assignment is not always easy to incorporate into every class, but I strive to take inspiration from it in developing assignments for each class I teach. This assignment challenged me in ways that pushed me out of my comfort zone of research papers. I recognize that classes are full of students with a variety of learning styles, communication styles, and interests. I aim to consider each of these aspects when creating and implementing courses.

Another opportunity I offer is for students to co-teach a portion of a lecture (online I have to adapt this process slightly, but it works just as well). Students who opt-in—this exercise is not compulsory—sign up for a particular week, do the readings ahead of time and meet with me to strategize their approach to teaching a portion of the lecture. This way, in addition to the opportunity for the teaching student to express what they learned, other students benefit from more varied methods of dispensing information. This is beneficial to the rest of the class, and also more interesting. It also provides me with a great opportunity to be a fellow pupil, learning from their methods and approach in order to improve my own lectures and presentations. Students exercise choice in their selection of whether or not to participate in this process, they choose the week they were most interested in, and they choose how to convey the lesson. This level of autonomy and engagement increases buy-in and flexes muscles outside the traditional read, write, and present. Whenever possible, I like to give students the opportunity to choose between types of assignments, like between a research paper and a comparable video presentation. They must be of comparable academic rigor and argumentation, but it allows students to find a mode to best express themselves. Additionally, I take a similar approach with readings, ideally in at least one module in each class that I teach. I give two paths to choose from. For example, I might have a selection of articles on gender and a selection on race or a selection on sports and one on fashion. We discuss them both, but students can have the ‘choose-your-own-adventure’ experience. This usually ties into a particular assignment that is shared with the rest of the class to convey all the reading takeaways to the entire group. These kinds of choices allow learners to follow their interests, get excited, and engage more deeply with the content.

Overall, I believe that learning about history helps students understand how we came to be in the world we live in and what we want the future to look like. I aim to present opposing viewpoints, highlight oppressed or overlooked peoples and narratives, and provide a well-rounded foundation of information from which students can develop or deepen their own worldviews, values, and interests. My own worldview shines through in the way I teach in that I believe each student is on an existential journey to understand who they are and what they should do, as Sartre has suggested. By providing them with all the necessary resources and a variety of perspectives and narratives to take in, I allow them to work their way through this journey.