Ann Gazzard
Professor Emeritus
Expertise in critical & creative thinking, philosophical inquiry/discussion; emotional intelligence & child emotional development.
agazzard@wagner.edu Campus Hall 3rd Floor By appointment. Ph.D. University of Newcastle, Australia, Philosophy for ChildrenM.A. University of Massachusetts, Critical and Creative Thinking
B.Sc. University of Newcastle, Australia, Psychology
I believe teaching is a glorious opportunity to affect positively the future society. To have the opportunity to open minds and enrich hearts with the love for truth, an eye for beauty, a passion for ethics, and compassion is to be honored and simultaneously considered worthy of such an important task. I believe education should be a preparation for life supporting and enriching intellectual, emotional and social development.
My academic and professional interests are centered around what I can do to accomplish these ends. I am very interested in early childhood education and parental education at this level believing as I do that the most important lessons in emotional patterning are acquired in the early years. I am also equally concerned with the development of critical and creative thinking skills in the later years of schooling as these reflect the individual’s capacity to deal successfully with the world and to chart his/her own course in life. I have a special interest in philosophical thinking as a tool that can serve these ends and as a tool that can preserve the art of conversation and rich dialogue in a world that is becoming increasingly preoccupied with substandard English, media bites and keyboards over people.
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