The Classroom as a Realm of Freedom
A Teaching Philosophy

Because the instructor holds so much sway in the classroom, I think it is a perfect environment in which my free-flowing spirit can attempt to open up what Heidegger calls the “realm of freedom” — where one “lets being be” — certain moments where one lets the intelligence and spirit of students unfold without interference. That is, at any rate, the grandiose way in which I like to conceive of my teaching style. 

For all this talk of freedom and free thinking, I’m am nonetheless quite the task master. There is a rigorous bent to my personality and teaching style. My experience has been with students from diverse social and cultural backgrounds, who come to college with vastly varying degrees of preparation and ability to read and write in English. I neither assume that students possess the reading and writing skills appropriate to college level philosophical enquiry — nor that they do not. I simply take it as my duty to confront this issue head-on. Regardless of course content, my assignments are always designed to improve students reading and writing abilities — demanding that they push themselves beyond what they think they are capable of. 

Such high demands are bound to meet the limits of students’ abilities, but reaching the limits of human potential is central to my understanding of philosophy. My understanding of philosophy is firmly rooted in Plato, especially in the notion of dialectic, the cross-examination of both oneself and others. And despite the objections of Derrida (especially in Speech and Phenomena), I think that dialectic properly takes place in face-to-face discussion through vocalized, not entirely rehearsed, speech. In my courses, discussion is part of every class session — so that students can get a feel for dialectics. I’m very fond of the “Socratic method” as it is typically understood — the asking of leading questions. However, I strive to employ the genuine Socratic method wherever possible — asking the central questions of philosophy that are ultimately frustrating to human consciousness — those that have no easy answers. But it is in the attempt to answer such questions where consciousness grows — hopefully to the very limits of human potential. I look for opportunities in the classroom where students can be engaged in such questioning — trying to open up an intellectual clearing where they can freely explore the intricacies of the philosophical spirit. 

For students that catch a glimpse of this “realm of freedom” in classroom discussion, my reading and writing assignments allow them opportunity to explore that realm quite extensively. And when students take advantage of that opportunity, there is nothing for me that is more rewarding.