What is a teaching philosophy? More importantly, why do I need one? In fact, why in the world do I care?
Well, there are many reasons for this, dear reader, because the way I teach determines if I am the right fit for you as a student.
And, I am not for everybody.
I am not your average teacher. This is not a side-eye other professors or teachers. They are not your average teacher either. In fact, you will be amazed to learn, and realize, that the philosophy of every teacher is individual.
And not every teacher is right for you. Remember, we are only guides to help you learn this thing called English, and life. That’s it.
However, we all have our little quirks, likes, dislikes, and philosophies.
This is how it goes down with me:
I believe that everyone should be treated equally, cared for deeply, but have absolutely no emotional attachment to the grading process.
Old school is the way I roll. I don’t believe technology is the best thing in the world. Yes, I do realize the irony of this, however, technology has done some horrifying things to our students. It has helped remove the imagination and the creative process. It has helped students forget how to be resourceful. It has kind of made them lazy. Let’s not forget that it creates a huge distraction.
There. I said it.
In my classes, I have banned smart phones, computers, and other technology.
I believe that to improve with writing, a student must practice writing. This means writing every day. I assign a ton of homework, not because I like to burden the students, but because I want them to practice. This is the only way a student can get better at writing.
Our brains are like a computer. The more you practice at something the stronger you get.
I believe the world judges you on three things: the way you look, the way you talk, and the way you write.
Allow me to be perfectly blunt here. I have absolutely no interest in how you look, or how you talk. I only care about how you write. And in order to get a job, you must realize that writing skills are a must.
Writing is an art form.
It is a way to express yourself, discover yourself, and to embrace yourself. However, like most things in life, one must know the structure and the rules. Those rules are kind of important. Once those rules are understood then it becomes a blast!
In my classroom, I expect the students to become a bit of a dysfunctional family. This is to help them learn how to network, get a support system built up, and to help each other out.
I personally am not one to believe that writing is neither solitary, nor collaborative. I don’t do “workshop style.”
Writing is more about taking the abstract and making it more concrete. The way to do this is through using various techniques. This can be done through reading, writing, improvising, music, through your five senses, interviews, movies, television, and even basic observations.
The art of writing is a wonderful and magical world that has been known to take down kingdoms, to instigate the old world order, and to embrace positive change.
Writing is so much more than just a bunch of words on a page.
It can be the single most powerful tool you have.
My philosophy on writing is rather simple:
All I have to do is give you a pen. You can create your own world of exploration.
