Jamila Walida Simon

Teaching Statement for Jamila Walida Simon

Teaching and learning have had a profound impact on me. Since childhood, my family has instilled in me the great dual responsibility one has to be both a teacher and a learner. I have cherished this role and as early as middle school; I have been consistently invited to adapt curricula and experiences to best fit the audience being served. In my earliest experience in youth development programming, I was invited to evaluate programs in other states for regional scaling. In addition, I worked with a team of adults to adapt their Science, Technology, Engineering, and Applied Mathematics (STEM) curriculum to meet the needs of urban youth during my middle school years.

My overarching teaching goals are threefold. (1) My main goal is to provide an engaging learning environment. (2) My secondary goal is to draw connections within the material to spark student learning and (3) my tertiary goal is to challenge the students by presenting varied ways of knowing.

At Cornell University, I have had a chance to mentor Extension educators, 4-H members, college students, and high school students. I spend a lot of time getting to know individuals and closely observing them to best understand what their spark is. Then, I assist the student and or adult with exploring what that spark is and having them identify how they would like for it to be developed. In the end, we work together, and the student can meet their goal of exploring their sense of purpose. I lend support in the form of resources and materials but only serve as a guide.

The specific courses I have taught have been as a part of my full-time employment with the Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research and New York State 4-H Youth Development where I have adapted Parenting Apart; a parenting education curriculum designed for use with adjudicated youth and families. I have also had a chance to re-design public presentations communication curricula and youth community action projects.

I also offer opportunities for the student’s interests to emerge by leaving space for them to co-create our reflection space and insert their course ideas by taking the lead on presenting materials. 

Last, I enjoy utilizing a project-based design so that students have a place where they can apply and adapt the concepts they’ve been exploring on paper and in print. Students work on assignments over the semester that build up their experiential learning and evidence-based practice within the work.