As I think about the three influences I listed, it strikes me that they all point to teaching with care and intention. And for me, so much of teaching is about the learning environment you foster. Because I can remember every time a teacher told me “you can do this” or “you can’t do that,” and how that either empowered me or tore me down, I start from a place of encouragement with students. Similarly, affirmation in class discussion is key. As a child I picked up on how the youth minister at the church I was raised in (he was also a middle school teacher) helped students feel safe to answer questions by putting a positive spin on any answer; an answer was never wrong, but it was a starting point to get at the right (or different) answer. And when I was putting a syllabus together for the first time last year, I drew on the caring and compassionate course policies of those teachers in my family to design the course.

Mostly the influences that have shaped my teaching have manifested positivity. Though the impact of negative experiences may have been greater in showing me what I value in learning and in how I do not want to teach.

Integrating these influences further in my future teaching may just look like practicing. I do not teach full courses as a librarian. At best, I get one or two sessions with students during a course taught by someone else. Establishing trust and rapport with students to create an effective learning environment is the challenge. Practice will give me more skill at leading fruitful class discussions. And my work with interns and student workers may be the place where I can apply an ethic of care.