My Teaching Philosophy

As an English teacher, my foremost goal is to share my love of great writing and literature with my students. If I can do that, my students will want to read their assignments.  I want to familiarize them with great writers—Shakespeare, Dickens, Twain, and S. E. Hinton—whose wisdom and artistry can both guide them through trials and help them to celebrate life. For writing can, and should, enrich, ennoble and enlarge us. The great American short story writer John Cheever said that the written word “binds us together.” Perhaps, in this bewildering world, good prose can even make us whole. If my students can learn to love great writing, they will value the need to become good writers themselves. I firmly believe that learning to write well will help students to discover not only who they are, but who they want to become, as the act of writing both enables and requires self-examination. I want the work that my students do with me to help them learn to discern their own values, goals, quirks and inner contradictions. I also hope that they will learn to interrogate their presumptions, and regard current events and issues through a newly critical lens.  I do realize that my ambition is lofty, but it reflects not so much inflated self-assessment as an absolute faith in the writing process. My own enthusiasm aside, I also believe in meeting students where they are—in not pretending that writing is, for everyone, enjoyable.  I have spent over a decade teaching composition (and occasionally literature) in the college classroom.  On the first day of class, I ask my students to write me a letter, telling me how they feel about composition. I ask them to be honest with me, and explain that they will not be penalized for their candor.  Indeed, this candor is a necessary first step. For my part, I must meet this trust in me—because my students are usually generous with their trust—with my own trust in them.  When I have been fortunate enough to teach literature, I have used creative writing strategies to help my students to engage in the texts. My literature students have written letters to authors (many no longer living), have composed prequels and sequels to stories, or used the writer’s style or subject matter for inspiration for their own work. Even the most resistant students often respond to these methods and find joy in creating their own work. Since I want to nurture that joy, and demystify the process of writing, I grade students foremost on content. For me, internal consistency and reasoning within the text is paramount. However, my commitment to clarity and demystification does not extend to a disregard for the conventions of grammar and style.  I believe, strongly, that we do students a disservice when we ignore these conventions. When we don’t help students to achieve basic skills, we have failed them.   ​