Children who possess this curiosity will become adults that are more fully engaged in their world, and that examine their environment for better alternatives; this is the kind of adult that I would like to see eventually emerging form my continued educational practice. Teacher-Learner Relationships

While I see educators more as guides than as authoritarian figures, there does need to be a clear hierarchy established between the teacher and the learner. This does not have to be strictly and explicitly defined, but rather should come more easily from the tone with which the classroom is run and how conflicts are handled when they arise (Gordon & Burch 2003). Simply guiding rather than directly instructing works until it doesn't, in other words, and once that point is reached instructions need to be followed. Even such instances are part of the educational process when it comes to building critical thinkers and careful decision makers, however.

Diversity

Diversity is only going to increase in the average educational setting as the world grows ever smaller, and rather than seeing this as a challenge it is quite easy to use diversity as an opportunity both for gaining new educational insights and creating more teaching moments that will be directly beneficial to the students (Applebaum 2002). In order to achieve this, I believe that educators should try to elicit as much

Such discussion and the need to navigate one's own values and views through those of their community is also an excellent way to encourage critical thinking skills and build other skills necessary for actively engaging in the world in a positive manner.
Conclusion

Through encouraging this diversity, maintaining a balanced relationship with students, and generally encouraging a full cognitive engagement in each step of their education, I hope to shape my students into critically thinking and ethically acting adults. I firmly believe that the quality of a culture's leaders is a direct result of the quality of education they received, and I would like to retire in a world that is better than the one we live in now. As an educator, I am on the front lines of creating the leaders that will shape such a world.

References

Applebaum, P. (2002). Multicultural and diversity education Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.

Davis-Seaver, J. & Davis, E. (2000). Critical thinking in young children. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press.

Gordon, T. & Nurch, N. (2003). Teacher effectiveness training. New York: Random House.

Winch, C. (2006). Education, autonomy and critical thinking. New York: Routledge.

Zuss, M. (2011). The practice of theoretical curiosity. New York: Springer.