Goals and Mission: The Classroom Community
A college professor of mine once told me that the most humbling and rewarding aspect of being a teacher, is remembering to be a student and to learn from the people you teach. My goal as a teacher is to keep learning with the curiosity and enthusiasm I’ve had in my favorite classes despite being on the other side of the blackboard. I hope to use this attitude to foster the kind of community within my classes that allows all of us to learn from and with each other; to question and challenge our material and our peers; and to feel comfortable sharing ideas and trying new methods. Like Lad Tobin describes in chapter 5 of Writing Relationships, I want a classroom that is fluid and allows for different roles and methods as they are necessary.
As a composition teacher, it is important to me that my students are able to transfer the tools they acquire into the rest of their college courses and beyond. And as a writer, it is important to me that my students discover their own voice and learn how to use it. I plan on using two different journaling methods (a class blog and a personal writing notebook) to help encourage transfer across genres, as well as personal creativity. And I hope class discussion, writing assignments, and shared free-writes will demonstrate that writing is about communication and telling a story regardless of the genre or the intention. Together, I hope my students and I can come together as writers to share and explore our different interests, stories, purposes, and ideas.
As a composition teacher, it is important to me that my students are able to transfer the tools they acquire into the rest of their college courses and beyond. And as a writer, it is important to me that my students discover their own voice and learn how to use it. I plan on using two different journaling methods (a class blog and a personal writing notebook) to help encourage transfer across genres, as well as personal creativity. And I hope class discussion, writing assignments, and shared free-writes will demonstrate that writing is about communication and telling a story regardless of the genre or the intention. Together, I hope my students and I can come together as writers to share and explore our different interests, stories, purposes, and ideas.
Teacher-Student Roles: Leading with Many Hats
My favorite high school teacher and my favorite college professor both organized their classrooms the same way: a rectangular table for us to sit around. In both classes the teacher sat at the head and I sat on the end. And in both classes I found myself in constant disagreement with my teachers. And what made these teachers, so great, was that they allowed me to dislike the material, disagree with their opinions, and constantly ask “why?” as long as my as my statements had context and my questions had reason. These teachers were exceptional in their ability to quietly command engagement, while allowing us (the students) to lead ourselves. They were also confident enough to sit amongst us, read material for the first time alongside us, and turn to us to say “I didn’t get this, did you?”
Now, on the other side of the table, I want my students to be the experts, the thinkers, and the leaders. But as a new teacher, as a young teacher, my key to classroom control will be flexibility. I want to slip in and out of the roles I need to in order to keep them going. I know that at times I will need to be a comedian, a Socratic guide, a parental figure, a devil’s advocate, an editor, and a cheerleader, among other roles. Being able to use these many hats at the right time while still being true to the person I am will give me the opportunity to take the lead when I need to and to step back when the students are leading themselves.
My classroom is also dependent on students being open and willing to share their personal experiences with each other and with me. In order for this to be successful, I must lead by example and also be willing to share my own stories and thoughts. Almost all relationships require a balance, being a teacher is no different. It is important that I am able to maintain some authority and distance, while also being part of the learning and sharing experience.
Now, on the other side of the table, I want my students to be the experts, the thinkers, and the leaders. But as a new teacher, as a young teacher, my key to classroom control will be flexibility. I want to slip in and out of the roles I need to in order to keep them going. I know that at times I will need to be a comedian, a Socratic guide, a parental figure, a devil’s advocate, an editor, and a cheerleader, among other roles. Being able to use these many hats at the right time while still being true to the person I am will give me the opportunity to take the lead when I need to and to step back when the students are leading themselves.
My classroom is also dependent on students being open and willing to share their personal experiences with each other and with me. In order for this to be successful, I must lead by example and also be willing to share my own stories and thoughts. Almost all relationships require a balance, being a teacher is no different. It is important that I am able to maintain some authority and distance, while also being part of the learning and sharing experience.
Responding and Evaluating: Big Picture, Little Details
Like most students, my own experience with response to my writing has been mixed. But the best responses I’ve had are the ones that engaged me as a scholar, thinker, and writer, rather than telling me as student. And the responses that made the biggest impact were the ones that came at a time where I was able to make corrections to actually improve my grade. In his article “Teacher Response as Conversation: More than Casusal Talk, an Exploration,” Richard Straub demonstrates the difference between requesting a change and offering advice, a distinction that makes a substantial difference in a student’s ability to transfer that advice to future compositions.
As a composition teacher, it is my job to respond to drafts and ideas in a way that is accessible by using common and clear language; specific in enough to pin-point an area, yet broad enough to allow critical thinking; and relevant to encouraging good writing habits. It is also crucial that I give my students a chance to apply these changes. My writing classroom is based heavily on response both from me and from peers, giving my students the opinion and perspective of a larger audience. Each draft is met with a written or oral response—helping students become better readers, listeners, and writers. Even evaluations—or final paper grades—come with one last chance for revision, allowing students who truly want to put in the time and effort every opportunity to be successful.
In my evaluations, in order to demonstrate that many different aspects go into good writing, I will give each student four separate grades, which will be averaged for an over-all paper grade. Each paper will be graded for content, organization, and grammar so that students can clearly see where their strengths and weaknesses lie. The paper will also receive a grade for process to evaluate how much improvement was made between drafts. The process grade is meant to underline one of the main takeaways of a Freshmen Composition class: good writing comes from a process that involves time, feedback, and revision. This grade is an opportunity to reward a hard working student who may not be the most polished writer, or to remind a stronger writer that he or she is not exempt from putting in time and effort.
Sources Cited:
Straub, Richard. "Teacher Response as Conversation: More than Casual Talk, An Exploration." Rhetoric Review 14 (1996): 374-98.
Tobin, Lad. Writing Relationships: What Really Happens in the Composition Class (1993): 75-87.
As a composition teacher, it is my job to respond to drafts and ideas in a way that is accessible by using common and clear language; specific in enough to pin-point an area, yet broad enough to allow critical thinking; and relevant to encouraging good writing habits. It is also crucial that I give my students a chance to apply these changes. My writing classroom is based heavily on response both from me and from peers, giving my students the opinion and perspective of a larger audience. Each draft is met with a written or oral response—helping students become better readers, listeners, and writers. Even evaluations—or final paper grades—come with one last chance for revision, allowing students who truly want to put in the time and effort every opportunity to be successful.
In my evaluations, in order to demonstrate that many different aspects go into good writing, I will give each student four separate grades, which will be averaged for an over-all paper grade. Each paper will be graded for content, organization, and grammar so that students can clearly see where their strengths and weaknesses lie. The paper will also receive a grade for process to evaluate how much improvement was made between drafts. The process grade is meant to underline one of the main takeaways of a Freshmen Composition class: good writing comes from a process that involves time, feedback, and revision. This grade is an opportunity to reward a hard working student who may not be the most polished writer, or to remind a stronger writer that he or she is not exempt from putting in time and effort.
Sources Cited:
Straub, Richard. "Teacher Response as Conversation: More than Casual Talk, An Exploration." Rhetoric Review 14 (1996): 374-98.
Tobin, Lad. Writing Relationships: What Really Happens in the Composition Class (1993): 75-87.