Pedagogy Guru

I'll start with a confession: I'm not a guru. Pedagogy Guru isn't about a single expert or having all the answers—it's about the kind of expertise that grows from reflection, patience, and practice. One student taught me that better than any workshop could.

I still remember the young man in my 10th-grade ELA class who refused to read during our daily ten minutes of free reading. Every day, he’d sit there doing nothing while his classmates opened their books. I didn’t push. I’d quietly place a book on his desk every so often—ones his friends were reading, ones that might speak to him—and then walk away.

Weeks passed before he finally picked one up. Then one day, he came into class in a panic because he’d lost the book—and, in a burst of teenage logic, accused me of losing it for him. Underneath the frustration was something new: he cared. The story mattered to him.

That moment changed how I thought about teaching. Up until then, I’d been focused on strategies and standards, on finding the “right” ways to motivate reluctant readers. But what that student really needed wasn’t a new technique—it was space. Space to feel safe, to feel curious, to choose for himself. The turning point came not from what I taught him, but from what I let go of: control.

It was a reminder that growth can’t be mandated—it has to be invited. Whether we’re talking about students or teachers, learning begins with belonging—with the sense that your perspective counts, your questions matter, and your voice has weight in the community. A classroom isn’t just where students learn about reading or writing; it’s where they begin to practice participation, fairness, and care for others.

That insight stayed with me as I moved from the classroom into teacher development. Over the years, I’ve worked with hundreds of educators who are deeply committed to their students, yet often overwhelmed by advice that feels disconnected from real classrooms. I founded Pedagogy Guru to offer something different: professional learning that starts where teachers are, honors their expertise, and helps them see their practice as a living community of inquiry—where reflection is the bridge between teaching and democracy.

As Pedagogy Guru grows, I want it to be more than just my voice. The most meaningful professional learning happens when teachers learn from one another—sharing what’s worked, what’s failed, and what surprised them. My hope is that this becomes a platform for teacher-created courses that reflect the diversity, creativity, and shared responsibility at the heart of great teaching.

Every course we create is designed to spark reflection, not just deliver content. Because when we pause to look closely at our teaching—the choices we make, the relationships we build—we model the habits of openness and dialogue that sustain both classrooms and communities.

Every great classroom begins with curiosity—ours as much as our students’.

With kindness,

Tim Fredrick
Founder, Pedagogy Guru