Part of the reason I am so dedicated to the study of philosophy and the pursuit of knowledge is to better myself as an educator. As such, my philosophical training significantly impacts my educational pedagogy. The goal of my educational philosophy rests on the cultivation of the spirit of wonder. I take wonder to be awe at and mental engagement in the mysteries of life; at least, this is the case for the purposes of my educational philosophy. To evoke wonder in the student, I focus my classroom management on cultivating an optimal and safe learning environment by supporting student self-regulation in a way that strengthens relationships (as opposed to weakening them) and building relationships with each and every student. To cultivate wonder, I also concentrate my curriculum on developing critical thinking skills and synthetic outcomes. I most often utilize the Socratic method in my instruction to generate more student engagement. And in my assessment, I tend to give formative assessments more than summative ones. However, I utilize both as summative assessments provide necessary data on student learning that indicates the effectivity of instruction.