Week 4: Teaching Philosophy

When undertaking the task of teaching students not how to write, but how to compose, it is imperative to understand the diverse demographic of the classroom and the multiple backgrounds from which students come. In order to reach the entirety of those being taught, it is necessary to consider that all students interpret things differently than others. It is also necessary to take into account the amount of effort that students put into completing assignments and into engaging within the class.  With these factors in mind, I believe that teaching should revolve around the following ideas, which cannot be neglected or dismissed at any point throughout the teaching process:

1. The classroom is a community comprised of teacher and students; without either half, the community is incomplete.

2. Students should be met with an empathy that allows teachers to understand and that keeps communication open on both ends.

3. Communication, both oral and written, should be placed at the forefront of the classroom, stressing the inability to compose without clarity in communication.

4. Creativity is the mind’s way of understanding and compartmentalizing ideas that are difficult to comprehend; room for creativity should exist within the classroom to ensure that students are given the utmost possibility of reaching their maximum potential as writers and readers.

5. Revision should be endless; without the opportunity to self-correct, or to rearrange thoughts, students would not understand why certain things do or do not work when composing.

By introducing the classroom as a communal setting, I allow my students to understand that they are just as much a part of the learning process as I am, as an instructor.  Getting students acknowledge their active role within the classroom frames the class itself around students’ engagement, which allows them to feel as if they get out of the class whatever they put into it.  I teach that, without communication regarding the assignments and the subject matter, students will not be able to portray their abilities accurately upon the page.  It is necessary to employ a method of immediate communication with students, inside and outside of class, to ensure that they understand what I am teaching, why I choose certain methods over others, and how they are developing under my instruction. 

I believe that it is vital for my own efficacy, as a teacher, to inform students that I am human, too.  By informing that I make mistakes and that I understand what it is like to be an undergraduate, I hope to establish a level of comfort within them when asking me questions or when approaching me with any concerns, school-related or not.  I desire for students to become empowered by words, as I once was, and I hope that I can motivate them toward viewing composition as an unadulterated form of communication.  I believe in assessing the ways in which students learn and in incorporating a variety of learning styles into the way I teach, with the hope of inspiring more students than before.

I assert that embracing creativity within the classroom is the key to students’ eventual understanding.  By providing them with a variety of methods through which to attain the same goal, whether it be rhetorical or literary analysis, I believe that students are more likely to grasp the concepts behind composition, along with the reasons behind its importance.  If a student is able to express him-/herself in a variety of genres and styles, I believe that their understanding of both rhetoric and composition as a discipline increases. In coincidence with my belief in embracing creativity, I also believe that revision should be consistently reaffirmed.  When students are given multiple chances to reorganize ideas, to rethink their diction, or to refocus a thesis, they have a much higher chance of both becoming stronger writers and of understanding the subject matter with clarity.

To teach is to connect language and ideas across a variety of media, to motivate students to express themselves clearly and without reservation, and to understand the mental gears that exist beyond language, culture, and history.  To teach is to inspire and, most importantly, to remind students that life exists apart from the immediate.