My teaching philosophy springs from two essential and general tenets, and encompasses practices and attitudes modeled after the subject that I am currently teaching. First, a course is a learning journey. Such a journey has a starting point (a lack of knowledge), and a destination which is acquaintance with a previously unknown part of reality. Socrates used to pride himself on one knowledge alone: the awareness of not knowing. Much effort, therefore, is aimed toward making my students comfortable with the socratic awareness of not knowing/understanding something, because it is the first step toward knowing it. Second, learning must keep thecharacter of discoveryproper to any discipline. I strongly believe that the experience of discovery plays a decisive role in a student’s personal growth. If my students experience the joy of discovering something new, they will treasure it for the rest of their lives and will value it as much more memorable than grades.
In teaching Latin, I try to foster the participation of every student at every session. It is essential to come to class prepared (homework) and ready to be actively engaged. Students bring to class any questions their homework and personal study aroused in them. Thus, students take ownership of their learning, aware of their limitations and of their areas for improvement. They also develop the good habit of asking for help, in class or during the instructor’s office hours. Mistakes in homework or in class activity are precious because they help everybody understand the material at hand with a precision that a lecture would not be able to achieve. Group practice, slideshows, and online activities are tailored to the understanding the actual group of students is achieving and invite them to self-assess their progress. They also allow me to personalize as much as possible my teaching practices. Learning pace, therefore, is a creative balance between aims and goals established by the syllabus, and the actual attainments of my students.
Lastly, I am always eager to learn from my students. The more students are encouraged to take ownership of their learning, the more their creativity and interests enrich my experience as well. In this way, students perceive that learning is a life-long endeavor and start accepting the possibility of embrace it as a state of mind. In a world that is ever more divided, I believe that the humility to accept that there are still things to learn constitutes the greatest service educators can offer to their students.