– a statement by Despina Papadopoulos

“Thank you for teaching us to enjoy the uncertainty of life!”

So starts a thank you email from one of my undergraduate students that I never got to meet in person, as the entire class was conducted online in the middle of the COVID pandemic. I treasure this email and feel proud and honored that I was able to impart this message.

As an educator, I encourage my students to be keen observers, to think about the ideologies of the tools they use, to create their own tools when possible, and importantly, help them articulate who they are and who they want to be. I encourage them to be curious, to take risks, to be aware of the risks they are taking, to embrace process and help them develop their own in their practice.

Teaching for me has been a drive, a vocation, a privilege and a constant source of learning and joy. I believe that teaching involves being present, open, constantly checking your assumptions, and treading the balance between assumed, tacit, internalized, and crystalized knowledge.

As technology always involves the subjects I have taught, I urge my students to both critically engage with the affordances, opportunities and liminal edges each technology affords, while urging them not to use technology for its own sake, not to conflate the medium with the message.

Criticality, ultimately, coupled with care and intention, is what my teaching philosophy is.