Outstanding University Teaching Award, Non-Tenured Track
Jamillah Gilbert
- Learning and Behavior Specialist of 25 years in the field of Special Education.
- MS.Ed. Illinois State University in Education—Curriculum & Instruction in 2005.
My motivation to become a college professor comes from …
My childhood was full of diverse experiences — all of which helped to form a mental model for my social interactions, view of organizational structure, and leadership purpose in the college classroom. These experiences helped to shape my vision for normalizing inclusivity and access. I am a teacher-activist who understands this beautiful world is vast enough for EVERY person to EQUALLY benefit from full ACCESS to it. As a teacher of aspiring teachers, I am uniquely positioned to influence policies, programs, and people to embrace and embody diversity and inclusivity for ALL students.
The most rewarding aspect of teaching for me is… (and why)
Bridges connect potential to opportunity. They present choices where there, otherwise, might not have been. As an educational leader, I shape both policy and practice by building new bridges and pointing out places of access for others. In my role as Clinical Assistant professor, I position course curricula to serve as bridges that connect students to community resources. I love helping them to see the cultural wealth and the value in the many assets their students and communities possess. It is most rewarding to help pre-service teachers see themselves as contributors and not saviors.
For me, the least favorite part of teaching is … (and why)
The least favorite part of teaching to me is the chore of having to deconstruct the deficit-thinking that tends to be engrained in the curricula, the paradigms of those within the educational community, the policies that are birthed from those paradigms, and in the field, itself. Add to that, the systemic racist ideas, policies, and people that perpetuate inequitable systems and practices. Education should be liberating for all learners. Currently, it is not. The push-back, denial, and unmasked vitriol I face in my efforts to uplift education makes teaching more challenging than it need be, and it's my least favorite part.
“Growth and development occur most often when connections are made and bridges from the familiar to the unfamiliar are crossed.”