My Teaching Philosophy

In my opinion, an excellent teaching philosophy is like a shape-shifter (any Star Wars fans?). A teaching philosophy should be willing to change. I plan to expand and shape my teaching philosophy as I gain more experience. However, my philosophy has begun by studyng the best scholars in the field as well as soaking in the practices and theology of my amazing professors at Eastern. This is what I believe:

- Students have their own writing process and that process should be honored. Some students diagram their thoughs, others compose by sitting at the computer and dumping everything they are thinking onto the screen. It's personal...and it should be honored.

- Writers learn to be good writers by writing. Dr. Baker related a common conversation he has with folks:

Person: "I'm a terrible writer."
Dr. Baker: "How often do you write?"
Person: "Well, never."

-Writing teachers should be writers. I love to write and I am willing to share my writing with my students. A teacher's example of the struggles, pain, and joy of the writing process is powerful pedagogy.

- Writing experiences should be authentic. This is hard...I know. Whenever possible, I will have the students write for someone other than me--the teacher. Examples: an open-house that celebrates student writing, blogs, class websites, submissions to journals, writing clubs, writing competitions, etc.

-Grading objectively is an ongoing learning process for composition teachers. Students need to feel safe when writing, but grades are necessary in school. Tension will always exist in the grading process