SIMPLY STATED, TEACHING EXCITES ME AND BRINGS ME A GREAT DEAL OF JOY!

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     I am a lifelong learner who is drawn to the synergetic relationship of teaching and learning. Because of this, I work diligently to share the joy of LIFELONG LEARNING with my students.

     It has been my pleasure to have taught in LIVE CLASSROOM and ONLINE arenas as well as having opportunities to develop face-to-face and online courses. Over those years, I have learned the importance of an APPLIED APPROACH to education, one that allows for creative scholarship that creates favorable circumstances to reach diverse student bodies with diverse learning styles.

     Becoming a lifelong learner and developing the skills associated with being a SELF-DIRECTED LEARNER are skills that will make students successful in their academic programs, but also in their adult lives as contributing members of society. It is my goal to empower students to take responsibility for their own learning by encouraging them to see themselves as critical thinkers budding researchers who are in a process of developing. This begins by creating a SAFE SPACE  within my classroom and within the space of my relationships with my students. I strongly believe that these spaces should be safe, caring spaces where students understand my commitment to them, feel secure enough to speak their mind and explore new ideas.

     As a social scientist and an INTERDISCIPLINARY SCHOLAR, whether I am teaching courses in International Relations, regional topics in the Middle East, or Anthropology my goal is to offer students diverse perspectives and a thorough understanding of the ways in which people and groups are interconnected, on a global scale, through systems, ideologies, and cultures. Difference is a source of strength, not an automatic cause for division. I emphasize to my students that DIVERSITY presents opportunities for both teacher and student to be positively challenged by people and ideas that are different from their own.

     My COMMITMENT to my students is to help them develop the ability to think critically and aid them in escaping culture-bound behavior while acting as a mentor to them so that they might navigate through the interrelated social and cultural networks of our increasingly complex world with knowledge and skill.