My teaching philosophy has always been “we mess up, not down.” My role in a classroom is to create space for my students to collaborate, play, and make the most ambitious mistakes they can. I believe that with great safety comes great wildness and that’s where my students make the best work. I build environments that meet my students at their comfortable level, then I intentionally disorient and provoke them to make them uncomfortable and see how they adapt. It is a careful balance of giving them the confidence that they know what they can figure out what to do even if they are frustrated, stuck, and feel confused. My students leave my classes knowing what they have learned and have the skills to repeat that learning and add on to the skills they learned with me.