Teaching Philosophy

Teachers of composition have gotten the shaft from the very early days of secondary and higher education in America. The primary focus for some time has been on syntax, structure, and the conventions of the English language. There have been voices since the beginning calling out for emancipation from this confining approach, but not enough to make a real change.
Composition instruction is currently the under-glorified workhorse of the English department.

Teachers receive little recognition next to their literature or theory based publishing counterparts. Different universities have different focuses when it comes to teaching writing, and Stewart identified three: Expressivism, Critical/Cultural Studies, and Procedural Rhetoric. The “current-traditional” rhetoric has come under fire by many, because of its focus on usage and formulaic structure. Fulkerson would agree with Stewart that “Composition has become much more complex” (679). The focus of English studies shifted in the 1990s according to Jeffrey Williams from criticism to theory. Now that theory has become the forefront of English studies, the field has become further disseminated, and composition remains in the shadows.

I believe the purpose of teaching should be to inspire, challenge, and equip a younger, rising generation. The greatest accomplishment that I can have as a teacher is to help students grow as critical thinkers and life-long learner. Learning is not the consumption and regurgitation of facts. Learning is about self-awareness – knowing one’s strengths and weaknesses and improving one’s self. Successful learning is when a student grasps a new concept or tool that enables him to have a deeper understanding of the world around him. I believe in guiding students, creating a positive and safe environment conducive to learning, modeling important behaviors, and teaching them tools that they can use independently in order to achieve success. Assessing student understanding is difficult. I currently use the standard grading system, but have often pondered other theories like pass/fail or even allowing students to grade themselves. I don’t like relying on the gradebook as much as I do, but with so many students I feel it is impossible (and unfair) to do otherwise.

Besides the development of critical thinking skills and a passion for life-long learning, my goal for my students is to help them become effective communicators and appreciators of culture. In writing instruction I try to incorporate elements of all of Stewart’s approaches to writing instruction. I believe that expressivist writing is very important for personal reflection and growth, cultural studies is important to get students thinking outside the box and challenging the power structures that have controlled their generation and those before. Though I am not a huge supporter of the current-traditional rhetoric, I still believe some instruction in usage and structure is necessary. I try to incorporate a variety of activities in class that address all of my students learning styles. I believe in fostering creativity and self-expression, but I also believe in the importance of discipline and fortitude. I lecture occasionally, but more often I try to equip students with effective strategies in reading and writing, model positive behavior and effective techniques, and challenge students o think independently and critically. I have been using technology more in my lessons and am trying to give students more problem based activities in which they have freedom in the responses. Technology is crucial because it students use it daily on heir own and mastery of it is quickly becoming a prerequisite in many fields.

I believe that one on one and small group interactions with students is absolutely essential. I believe that it is important to develop a connection with students and to build trust. When one has less than an hour each day to spend with a group of roughly thirty students, building a rapport can be extremely difficult. My vision of the ideal educational setting is this: first, the school day should be divided into two segments instead of approximately seven periods. One session should focus on the humanities: art, music, literature, history, communication (including writing and speech), even religion and philosophy, the other session should focus on math and the sciences. Because many of the topics overlap, they should be taught together and student interest should typically guide much of the instruction. In addition, learning should take place in small groups so that the instructor can be directly involved with education of each student.

My students journal a great deal and I try to incorporate a variety of strategies to stimulate and motivate them. For instance, I frequently use music as a tool. Every Friday we set aside some time to listen to, analyze, write on and discuss a different song. We have listened to a wide variety of genres and students help pick the music. I also like to give students group work in which they are required to research, collaborate, and present their findings to the class in creative ways. For example, before reading The Canterbury Tales, student groups researched various aspects of medieval society, organized their info, and on presentation day we had great food, costumes, hilarious videos, games, and even dancing!