I am not your traditional run-of-the mill English instructor. I was not an English major as an undergraduate and only a quasi-English major in graduate school; in fact, as an undergraduate I.T. major, I was one of those students touting my ultimate dislike and pure disdain of English courses. I have since changed my ways, of course, to understand the true value of the English language, but my shared experiences with my students coupled with my interdisciplinary background and corporate training allows me to bring something to the table that many English instructors cannot – pure authenticity, relatability, and an unsurpassed practicality.
A teaching philosophy is like a good book. We hang on to its most memorable ideas, and every visit – no matter how brief – changes our perceptions in the slightest yet most profound ways.
A teaching philosophy should be flexible and easily adaptable to the current situation, while taking into account student learning styles, institutional and technological constraints, and affordances. As a writing instructor, I am concerned with the process of my student’s writing and the importance of critically responding and engaging with student writing as a reader would. Students should be provided many opportunities to write for multiple audiences and to receive feedback from sources other than the instructor, such as through peer review and reader response groups; so, I use small peer groups so that students learn to accept and appreciate critical feedback from other sources as being both valid and useful.
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