Santa Barbara City College Professor Geordie Armstrong talks about diversity, the importance of empowering women in education, imposter syndrome, and her gripping personal story of overcoming adversity.
Armstrong cherishes her role as teacher, and prides herself on teaching to everyone in the classroom. College and education, she said, are about asking questions, learning, and feeling safe to approach and challenge ideas.
“That idea that colleges and universities are this bastion of liberal thinking, and that they are indoctrinating young people, statistically, people get their views from their household,” Armstrong said. “Most political views tend to start around 5 or 6 years old. The vast majority of people get their political views from where they started, not where they go to college.”
Armstrong also talks about ways to empower women in the classroom, and her observations of how young women sometimes apologize for asking a question, or will watch some male students take responsibility for the work that women created.
Her position on diversity is that when when women and underepresented individuals are heard, everyone benefits.
She also shares how she overcame an abusive childhood, left home early, and then found her calling at Santa Barbara City College.
She credits former Santa Barbara High School teacher and principal JR Richards for empowering her to take classes at Santa Barbara City College.
At SBCC, she was inspired by Dr. Curtis Solberg and decided that she too wanted to be a community college teacher.
Armstrong also talks about ways to empower women and all students in the classroom, and how understanding human geography can solve many of the world’s problems, including political and social conflict.
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