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Andy’s Teaching Philosophy
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Andy’s Teaching Philosophy
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"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”
--William Butler Yeats
My teaching philosophy is inspired by Yeats' famous dictum. I view my role less as a lecturer
than as a catalyst for student-initiated learning. I give students the information I feel they need,
and then I try to encourage them to use that information to think seriously and creatively
about themselves and the world around them. I consider it my responsibility as a
college professor to provide students with something they can take with them into
whatever professional path they choose: a lifelong passion for taking intellectual
and creative risks, and a recognition of the importance of a broad liberal arts
education to their professional and personal fulfillment. I strive to foster in my
students a love of great literature, the arts, and Russian culture, as well as a
respect for the broader humanistic values of intellectual inquiry, creativity,
open-mindedness, diversity, and social responsibility. |
One reason I fell in love with Russian at Amherst College is because of the inspirational
teaching I encountered there. I know from very personal experience how such teaching
can alter the trajectory of a young person’s course of study, career, and even life.
This is the kind of superb, personalized teaching that I want to emulate in my own
professional career.
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