Teaching philosophy

What is my teaching philosophy?

On several occasions at the beginning of a new school year, parents would ask me to describe my educational pedagogy. For the first half of my career, I never quite knew how to answer that question. Eventually, I realized that my approach to teaching really came down to two core beliefs.

The first is that learning should be engaging, and whenever possible, fun.

I always tried to make my classroom a place students wanted to be, not simply a place their schedule required them to be. I wanted students to feel comfortable, welcome, and curious about what we were going to do next.

Years ago, while hiking in the Italian Dolomites, I struck up a conversation with an eighth grader who told me that her seventh-grade science teacher had “sucked the enthusiasm out of science class.”

What a tragedy.

We teach what is arguably one of the most exciting and awe-inspiring subjects in school. Science gives us the opportunity to explore everything from the unimaginably small to the unimaginably large, and to understand the forces, matter, energy, and interactions that shape the world around us. Yet too many students leave science classrooms disappointed or bored.

Of course, every moment of every lesson cannot be filled with edge-of-your-seat excitement. But we should never forget that part of our job is to provide the spark. Science education should foster not only knowledge, but also a sense of wonder and curiosity.

My second belief is that great teaching begins with strong personal relationships.

I wanted my students to see me laugh and see me cry. I wanted them to see me on my best days and see how I worked through my worst ones. Most importantly, I wanted them to know that I cared about them, that I would advocate for them, and that I was fully committed to their success.

I strongly believe that it is extraordinarily difficult to reach a student who does not believe that you care about them.

I was never naive enough to think I could develop that kind of relationship with every student who entered my classroom. But what is the alternative? If the alternative is simply delivering subject matter without trying to know the people sitting in front of me, I never wanted any part of that approach.

There was a practical benefit as well. I had relatively few discipline problems throughout my career. When students know that you genuinely care about them, they often respond with greater effort, trust, and respect.

The classroom may have changed, but the philosophy hasn’t.

Near the end of my teaching career, at the urging of my students, I began sharing science on social media. What started as a small experiment grew into Wolf Science and an audience larger than I ever could have imagined when I posted that first video.

What surprised me most wasn’t simply the size of the audience. It was discovering just how many people, of all ages, still wanted to learn science.

Perhaps there’s a glowing ember of scientific curiosity in more people than we realize. My goal, both in the classroom and through Wolf Science, has always been to provide the spark that brings it to life.

That was my goal in the classroom for 34 years.

It’s still my goal today.