Educational  Philosophy

I am an author and educator who believes that education has the power to transform lives. I believe that schooling serves the purpose of orienting the child into the circumstances of her world and providing her with the space to carve her own identity. A positive school environment allows the child to embrace her intuitive sense of the nature of the world and her place in it. Indeed, a social goal of education is to prepare children to become functioning members of the society. My early schooling in Jamaica taught me that school is a place for children to soar and reach heights that extend far beyond the limits of their physical world. I hold myself accountable to make a positive contribution to this process of transformation.

Educators must be required to take into account those cultural factors that shape the way children learn and the pertinence of their cultural roots in their academic and social development. Deeper consideration must be given to the cultural background of school  children. We must create for all children, a pathway into connecting home culture with the school community. This will help to engender a sense of belonging and reduce the alienation that characterizes the experience of children of color . One critical step is to emphasize the language of their stories that define their life and place them on the continuum of their ancestral heritage. It is our primary task to invest students in the content and practice of our classroom teaching. To do so, we must validate their background and show respect for what they bring to the classroom. This will be of particular value in connecting with our students, creating the pathway to their academic achievement.