"What is the end of composition?"

I think the direct response to the question, “What is the End of Composition?” for students in college is when that final paper is turned into class or when the final exam is completed at the end of the semester. Unfortunately, in reality, this concept of dismissing classes at the end of every semester is the perception that many students approach their educations with, especially when they are freshmen. I personally do not believe as teachers and instructors of composition that there is an end to composition. I think that composition not only as a class but as a value is not a linear process but a circular one. For instructors, we live and breath rhetoric and composition all of the time.

But how do we transfer composition skills to our students so that by the end of the semester they will be effective and critical writers? I personally think that it is a step by step process. And that process is filled with trial and tribulations. As instructors, if we become invested in the students who are willing to learn, then hopefully they will be able to use grammar, rhetoric, and critical thinking skills across the disciplines. I believe that if there is a supposedly end to composition, then the application of those skills would be it.

In conclusion, I like to think that for students, who will have to write papers, evaluate sources, or develop a effective thesis for their papers in other classes, will be involved with composition all of the time. Because for those students who really learn composition, the end of composition at the end of the semester does not really end, it is only the beginning.

Teaching philosophies

I think that one important philosophy of composition would be grammar and rhetoric. It is an important key concept that I recognize, but not necessarily one that I think should be at the top of the list of every teaching philosophy. But in retrospect, I think that any teaching philosophy will of course differ from one person to another. In addition, as instructors in academic classrooms, we all should recognize the different contextual factors that have influenced each others’ experiences. Those contextual experiences will then influence our own teaching philosophies.

In particular, my own contextual factors are intersecting identities of gender, race, and class. Therefore, one strong foundation of my teaching philosophy is to cultivate a learning environment where the expression of different ideologies, experiences, and beliefs are done in a respectful and liberating manner. I also strongly believe in the teaching strategies of group discussion. As people who are cultural and socially influenced, it is in social settings where I believe that some of the most productive learning can be accomplished.

Document instructors as facilitators of English

I think first and foremost the document instructors in ICON are facilitators of grades. Our jobs are to help the progress of each student that participates in ICON. Document instructors are the first individuals who will view and critique a students’ paper, brief, or summary. That job in itself is a huge responsibility and a daunting task for any conscientious person. It is our responsibility to grade students’ papers to the best of our ability but also grade papers in a way that would be most helpful to the student.

In my opinion, we do this by constructive criticism not destructive criticism. Because our grades are the first ones that a student will view, I strongly believe that each and every critique that document instructors offer should be written in a way that will be receptive to the student. There is a constructive way that any facilitator in ICON can give a student a seventy, but still incorporate critiques for the student that is not dehumanizing, rude, or judgmental.

Many times, I have received the impression that many people believe they are better or more educated than others. These ideologies cultivate an elitist academic agenda. It is a perception that I believe is defeating, counter-productive, and leaks onto a student’s paper while document instructors are grading.

It is when the facilitators of ICON encourage constructive criticism, that the student may understand the difference between complex sentences versus compound sentences or all of the other grammar nuances that will allow the students to become an even more productive citizen and a competitive college student in the future. As document instructors, we have the influence to help transform a student’s writing into something the student will feel proud to represent. But first, as document instructors, we need to realize that once we too were undergrads in English classes. Struggling perhaps not with grammar or citing, but something else that at one time we may have found defeating. Therefore, it is only with patience and understanding, that all document instructors may become even more effective facilitators in ICON.

The Three core values

As I thought about the writing prompt for today’s blog, it soon became difficult to decide what the three most important beliefs I had about teaching. I kept thinking what values would I teach about composition, and I soon realized that my own values would integrate core theoretical frameworks of composition as well as pragmatic examples that have shaped me mentally as well as socially and cultural. Therefore, my first teaching value is that a teacher should have a sincere understanding of societal, cultural and socio-economic values as well as the willingness to teach different cultural perspectives in their classrooms.

I believe that this notion of teaching different perspectives is not only important for the students but for the professor as well. Along with this concept of teaching different perspectives, sometimes the assumption is made by many that I am speaking of diversity and of course this would automatically make it a racial issue. Sadly and mistakenly this is not the case, and while some people ignorantly make these assumptions, it reaffirms my first value. Because when professors make the error of teaching different cultural perspectives focused only on race, it marginalizes and displaces other cultural groups.

Secondly, I believe another important concept of teaching composition is learning to teach it as a necessity to success instead of a commodity that is consumed and discarded by students after the semester is finished. It is inevitable that as a professor of composition, a wide range of students will be taking the course, therefore; these students will be from all types of majors. This may be the only time that any of these students will be in an environment where they will be able to focus solely on their writing skills. As a teacher of composition this is the perfect opportunity to really help students understand rhetoric and the importance of developing good writing skills for all their future endeavors.

Lastly, my third value is teaching classes in order for the students to really learn. I understand that ‘learning just to learn’ is a romanticized notion, especially when it is competing in a capitalistic society ruled by consumerism. But it is a value that is important. Coming into graduate course work, I hold the unique position of being a teacher and a student, but I was also an undergraduate three moths ago. I was the student who was obsessed about grades and not concerned about the ideology of learning. However, as I became a junior and a senior at Texas A&M, my perspectives began to change, especially when I began to prepare for graduate school.

I remembered a professor my freshmen year of college who taught bell hooks in her English women writers’ class. As a student I was delighted when I discovered a new perspective on racial politics. It changed my life, figuratively and literally. That professor was amazing. I recalled being eighteen and naively thinking that a woman of a different race knew more about African-American literature than I did at the time. In addition, she was more open-minded to different perspectives. For me, it only took one professor. It only took one person who believed in teaching to give me the knowledge and the tools to succeed. Because of her, I wanted to achieve more. I received a C that semester in the course, but it did not matter, because that professor gave me the tools that started me on the path that I am still walking today.