TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
Informed by the works of Paulo Freire and the principles of critical pedagogy, my teaching philosophy is rooted in the belief that the purpose of education is to help students understand, analyze and adequately critique the system of education within which they are members of. I seek to provide students with the tools and knowledge needed to become future educators, policymakers, and education activists, in order to advocate for a more just and equitable education for all. I intend for my courses to be transformative experiences for both myself and my students. Through critical thinking and experiential learning, I teach students to be critical consumers of knowledge by empowering them to examine assumption and articulate arguments that support empirical research and theory. I also challenge my students to reflect on their own assumptions, experiences and actions as they relate to the course topics and specifically to issues of social inequality. I have teaching experiences at both the undergraduate and graduate level.
COURSES
New York University—Sociology of Education Program
Critical Social Theory (Graduate). This graduate course will introduce students to the foundations of critical theory. Critical theory, a type of social theory, is a school of thought established by the Frankfurt School in the 1930s and focuses on interrogating and interrupting power, oppression, and what is known as “truth.” Fundamentally rooted in Marxism and Hegelianism, critical theorists argue for the emancipation of oppressed people from all forms of dominations. Additionally, critical theorists’ view society as unjust and seek to disrupt taken-for-granted assumptions about social dynamics, culture, and power. Critical theory acts by giving voice to the oppressed in an attempt to create a more just society. In this course, we will examine the theoretical works from those affiliated with the Frankfurt School from scholars such as Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse and Habermas. We will also examine the works of Black Intellectuals such as Du Bois, Cesaire, and Fanon whose writings have greatly influenced contemporary critical theory. We will then turn to the different forms of critical theories in existence such as Black Feminist Thought, Critical Race Theory, Intersectionality, and Queer Theory to name a few. We will also examine education research that exemplifies these critical theories in order to examine the applicability (or lack thereof) of these theoretical approaches to understanding society and education. By the end of the class, students will be able to distinguish between theories that are in the critical theory camp and those that are not, name and understand different types of critical theories, and have the ability to evaluate critical theory research.
Sociology of Education (Graduate). This course will focus on the relationship between education and society. It is a critical sociological look at education in the United States – with a focus on contemporary debates and issues. The course will examine social influences on education and, in turn, the effects of education and schooling on the identities, social experiences, and academic outcomes of individuals and groups in contemporary American society. Thus, we will reflect on the effects of schooling on the structure of society as well. The course will study how sociologists have both theoretically and empirically examine schooling practices/policies, what students learn, and how schools fit into the larger society, in addition to how the educational system in the U.S. interacts with forms social differences such as race, ethnicity, class, gender, and (dis)ability. Upon completion of this course, students are expected to know the social foundations and effects of schooling in the United States and should be able to critically examine the ways in which educational practices and policies impact the lives of students.
Social Inequality and Education (Graduate). This course considers the role of educational institutions in fostering, preventing, and maintaining inequalities in American society. Drawing primarily from sociological scholarship, this course focuses on inequalities faced by students from different racial and ethnic groups in the United States, immigrants and native-born alike. Consideration is first given to the kinds of inequalities which exist in our society, to their bases and sources. The course will then turn its attention to the analysis of social and educational practices and structures related to the production and maintenance of equalities and inequalities. Students will come to recognize the structural forces of inequality in communities and schools, and how those forces contribute to unequal opportunities, experiences, and achievement outcomes for students along lines of race/ethnicity, class, gender, and immigration status. Specific topics to be covered include neighborhood and school segregation, culture, stereotypes, and immigrant integration patterns.
Approaches to Qualitative Inquiry (Graduate). This course introduces students to the group of approaches to social science and humanistic research known as qualitative inquiry. These approaches include ethnography, phenomenology, case study, grounded theory and narrative research, and employ methods of interviewing, participation observation, and discourse analysis. The course is designed as an introductory training course for masters’ and doctoral students who plan to conduct qualitative research for their theses or dissertations. Students will examine studies that employ these approaches; discuss assumptions of qualitative inquiry; discuss standards of sampling, ethics, and validity, and design a qualitative research proposal. This course is the first in the qualitative series offered at Steinhardt. This course is the prerequisite to the more advanced and specialized qualitative methods courses offered in the school. It is not meant to constitute the entirety of students’ methods training. Rather, it provides an introductory treatment of the range of methods that students might employ if they are interested in researching a question that lends itself to a qualitative approach. Since qualitative methods are best learned through “hands on” experience, the course will be devoted to giving students an opportunity to practice qualitative methods, particularly interviewing and participant observation.
Education as a Social Institution (Undergrad). Education is seen as a means for individuals to fulfill aspirations and improve social status, health, and opportunities for themselves and future generations. Yet, in the modern American context of schooling systems, it is clear that factors such class and identity, affect disparities in resources individuals and families have access to. This course considers the role of education as a social institution and the ways in which it fosters, prevents, and maintain social inequities in the United States. Drawing primarily from sociology and education scholarships, the course promotes deeper understandings of key social and structural factors that contribute to variation in educational opportunities and outcomes of different groups. We examine the structural and cultural ways in which American schools have played a role in building and sustaining social hierarchies and consider how this has shaped the character of our society. In other words, the course explores how schooling (education received in school), socialize students differently based on their real or perceived culture, race, class, gender, sexual identity, and immigrant status and how that leads to differential outcomes for different groups. This course offers students an introduction to the origins, development, and current state of social theory and practice/research on education. Readings and discussions will situate American education and schooling within broader social, political, economic, and historical contexts.
University of Wisconsin-Madison—Educational Policy Studies Department
School and Society (Lecturer, Fall 2018, Undergraduate)
School and Society (Lecturer, Spring 2018, Undergraduate)
Qualitative Research Methods: Field I (TA, Fall 2017, Graduate)
Anthropology and Education (TA, Fall 2015, Graduate)
Issues in Urban Education (TA, Spring 2015, 2019, Undergraduate & Graduate)
Sociology of Education (TA, Fall 2014, Undergraduate & Graduate)