What Do Van Halen and Robin Williams Have in Common?

"Whatever you can do, or dream, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it."
Johann Wolfgang Goethe

"Education is not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire."
William Butler Yeats

The quote by Goethe epitomizes the idea that success starts with taking the first big step. It's often times difficult and frightening, but taking risks can lead to a more fulfilling life. It shows confidence and concern for one's well being which in turn leads to a greater happiness. My journey to becoming a teacher began with such a step. I left a stable and unrewarding job to continue my education on the graduate level. I wanted to do something that would make a difference in their lives of our young people. Likewise, the quote by Yeats frames the idea I have behind how a student should receive his or her education. As Freire wrote in the 1970's, students are not empty vessels into which teachers deposit information but people with opinions, ideas and creativity. I believe that each student has the potential to be a spark that ignites into flames that spread with their influence over the lives of their peers, families and educators. These two ideas about how I see myself in this world and how I see my students that shape my philosophy of teaching.

Ironically, I was an uncomfortable student from my early years, and would have been perfectly happy with the idea with teachers just lecturing for the entire period. I dreaded being called on to answer a question, and when those unfortunate moments arose I froze, turned crimson and prayed that the teacher would have sympathy for me. It wasn't the case in English class however, where I frequently volunteered to read passages aloud and act out a character if we were reading a play. I knew that although I didn't risk saying the wrong answer it still took some courage to let my voice escape the confines of my thorax and seep out into the room.

I've come to realize that much of what makes up my life today is in defiance of my greatest fear of public speaking. It's accurate to say that my decision to become a teacher, thus to challenge my greatest fear, began when I started my first ministry at the Catholic Church I've attended on and off for my whole life. Being a Lector has its similarities to teaching; you're in front of people and have to be effective in order for people to care about your message.

My education classes at Brooklyn College have exposed me to a wide range of ideas about teaching, but it was my first course in the program, Classroom Interaction and Curriculum, that opened my eyes to the possibilities a teacher can have for influencing her students. I especially connected with the idea of Inquiry-based learning as a method of instruction. The appeal lay in the teachers not being seen as an all-knowing presence transmitting information to the students, but as a facilitator who respects the students' prior knowledge. Before coming to Brooklyn College my instructor for the course had been a school principal, a classroom teacher and a guidance counselor, so he was able to speak from more than one perspective about the education process. One of his most memorable remarks was that the classroom we create should be the one place students look forward to coming to more than anything else. At the time I wondered how it could be possible to have a classroom that students found preferable to their outside lives. Now I believe that students feel the most welcome in an environment that they can openly engage in rather than feel restricted.

My first student teaching experience was at Brooklyn Academy High School in Bedford-Stuyvesant, an alternative school for young adults 17-21 looking for a second chance. The population consists mostly of those who left high school years earlier but were too old to be readmitted into another high school. Given this student body, I was presented with an additional challenge I hadn't anticipated when I enrolled in the School of Education. I felt a great deal of trepidation on my first day, but I knew there was something special about my responsibility in this environment: I had to reacquaint the students with learning in an enriching and positive manner. In the process, I became enriched with what the students had to offer to me. I saw some shining stars in my classroom, and have come away with learning more about life than I could have imagined. LouAnn Johnson, an educator and author, has said, "When students believe success is possible, they will try. If they don't believe they can succeed, it doesn't matter how easy the material or how smart the students, they will fail." Most of the students at Brooklyn Academy are there because they want to turn their life around, and believe that if they apply themselves to their instruction they will succeed.

One example of such a student is Jessica. After the double period Regents prep course finished for the day, she stayed in the classroom and did work since it was her lunch period. I got to know Jessica quite well not just as a student in a class of 25, but as an ambitious young woman who decided to come back to school after spending most of her previous high school career cutting class. She wants to become a chef, and applied to The Art Institute of New York for its culinary arts program. She is also an avid reader and enjoys curling up with a book regardless if it's assigned reading. When she started reading Bastard out of Carolina I decided to read it as well, not just to share a connection with a student but in the hopes of discussing the text in case she needed help with her book report.

Jessica looks forward to English class because of the opportunity to talk about what she loves to do, which is read. In many cases, English teachers open up a special world to their students by introducing a particular book of interest that the students might not have otherwise read. When the class was reading James Baldwin's If Beale Street Could Talk a student, Luis, confided in me that this was the first book he read front cover to cover. He connected with the book's young adult characters and found himself enjoying the story when he previously read a book's Cliff Notes. His comment left me with the hope that after he leaves my class he will make it a habit to read more.

It is an integral part of an educator's job to understand the hearts and minds of young adults in the 21^st century. A valuable resource for me in this regard is Fires in the Bathroom by Kathleen Cushman. At the heart of the text are contributions by urban high school students on things they like about how they're being educated and things they would like to see change. The students emphasize their need to feel that the teacher cares about them and has an interest in their lives, and outline several ways in which a teacher can express this interest. At the beginning of a new semester I would like to acquaint myself with the students by handing out questionnaires, learning about the students' favorite activities and what they enjoy or hope to get out of being in my class. According to the text, "students know that school can help them develop their interests and passions, but often their teachers don't have enough information to help that happen"(14). In a school such as Brooklyn Academy, where teachers have the responsibility of "reacquainting" students with learning in a productive and meaningful manner, this can be accomplished if teachers make it their duty to know something about each of their students beyond their academic demeanor.

In order to go forth boldly into achieving one's dreams, students need someone to inspire them, to see school as something not just to attend for twelve years, but rather as place where fires can be lit in a student's mind. I would like to pay my word of thanks to those teachers of mine who refused to view my mind as a bucket to fill perfunctorily but who got their matchbook ready for another spark of inspiration. I am ready to pass on to the next generation the "genius, power and magic" instilled in me as a result of a few caring and passionate teachers.