SummaryI am a graduate student at the University of South Florida.

About me

I have two dogs, one overworked vacuum cleaner, and kitchen sink full of dishes. I just recently learned how to spell "vacuum". My office is in CPR 222, which, by the way is where I spend most of my time Monday through Wednesday. If you'd like to pop your head in, feel free. I teach two sections of ENC 1101: both are Monday/Wednesday--8:00-9:15 (CPR 120) and 11:00-12:15 (NES 102)

Teaching Philosophy

Teaching philosophy

One of my most inspirational teachers, Dr. Elie Wiesel, told me two things which have had a marked impact on my impression of teaching and learning as a process. First, he told me that he never teaches the same class twice--he has not, and will not. I inferred that he was committed to learning, inquiry, and discovery. Secondly, he commented to our class that each one of us was in his daily journals. The knowledge implicit in this statement--that 18-20 year old students studying Camus' Myth of Sisyphus and commenting appropriately were included amongst the names of senators, leaders of Isreal, his family and friends, even the Dalai Llama--told me as a student that I was esteemed by a wise, learned, and internationally-re-nowned teacher despite my own doubts and relative lack of experience. Dr. Wiesel's commentary encouraged me to re-evaluate my perception of myself as an "insignificant" student--one whose thoughts might not be taken seriously or might not have effect on the notorious "world at large" unless I had spent years building a name for myself.

The commitment to learning, inquiry, and discovery in tandem with esteem fostered between teacher and student define some central pillars of my own teaching philosophy. As a teacher, I challenge and encourage students to consider their own place in the various contexts of the world from several standpoints. For instance, as critics, my students are expected to analyze the rhetorical back-drop of situations, research, and scholarly claims in both formal and informal settings. As individuals in my classroom, I invite my students to share what contexts they have already mastered in order to shed light on the questions and assignments on hand. I urge students to examine all statements closely; not only their own as they write papers and articulate thoughts in class, but those "authorities" whom they are reading and citing. My students should feel that their comments have the power to sway an audience, and that they have the logical and rhetorical skills to not only analyze but also to communicate effectively.

In order to facilitate that confidence, I ask my students to practice analysis, writing, and reflection in very different contexts. My reading assignments, for example, are designed to be stimulating along very different constructs. I have students read satires written about topical educational or political issues, pathos-driven pieces about religious and human rights issues, "dry" academic analysis and exposition of writing "basics" in order to identify not only generic perspectives, but also to investigate the motivations and strategies of each piece of writing.

(to be continued--I still want to address the importance of "community" both writing, ethical, rhetorical, and social; classroom discussion, activity, and demeanor; response to writing; process of writing...and so much more)

Discuss

DiscussionI like your emphasis on different contexts to expose them to the diversity of writing styles and approaches...there's sure more to it than what many may see as dry, academic prose that they are forced to produce. Encouragement is always worth the effort! -Bob G.

I liked C.R.'s suggestions for blog topics, so here are a few that I used last week along with the instructions:

Blog Topics

Blogging instructions:

Make sure that each post is 200 words or more. More importantly, make sure that you answer each question fully. Pick two of the choice below and blog about them.

If blogs are missing, 1/3 credit will be deducted for that week. If your blog shows two posts for a particular week, your score will be a 66%, which is failing. If you blog once, your score will be a 33%. Keep in mind that I am not scrutinizing these posts for grammar, etc.—I am looking for content and thought. If your posts reflect reasonable quality and all three are present and of reasonable length, you will earn 100%. Keep in mind that blogging is a very important part of your final grade.

Topic #1:

Travel Log

Think of a place that you have visited at any time in your life. It does not have to be out of the country, or even out of the state. Consider the following questions:

1. What can you identify as different about the place from your immediate area (5-10 miles) of your “home”?

a. Did people dress differently? How so?

b. Is the landscape/cityscape different? Describe in detail your memory.

c. What do you remember about the sensory experience? The food that you ate? The smell of the air? The feeling of walking in grass without the fear of fireants?

Topic #2:

T.V. Analysis

Think of a show you have recently watched on television.

Questions:

1. What kind of things were you bombarded with during the show? Were there flashy scene cuts? Overwhelming commercials? Babes in bikinis? What do all of these (and more) tell you about the target audience of the show?

2. Once you have identified a target audience (or audiences), critique the strategy of the advertisers/producers of the show. Identify:

a. If you are part of the target audience, and why

b. Good strategies vs. bad strategies

Topic #3:

Blog Sites

Find a blog site that speaks to you. Identify the strengths/weaknesses of the blogger and or the site itself. Be sure to be detailed, constructive, and reflective. Include the address in your post. Below the questions, I have listed several suggestions for interesting blogs in case you are stuck. You may respond to your fellow student’s blogs. Some of the blogs are thought-provoking and perhaps even heart-wrenching. Some even qualify as art. All have strengths and weakness. Answer the following questions (on the next page):

1) Describe the blog. Consider the following questions and answer the most appropriate ones:

Is it personal? News-oriented? Who is making the commentary? Do they have an agenda (or agendas)? If so, how can you tell? Do you trust them as a reliable source—and do you need to?

2)What makes this a good blog or a blog that needs improvement?

Consider the following questions, and answer the most appropriate ones:

Is there writing? If so, what is strong about it? What is weak about the writing, if anything? Are there pictures? Should there be?

If there are pictures- do they speak more strongly than words ever could? Can pictures have an agenda?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

http://postsecret.blogspot.com/

http://crisispictures.org/