I am still working on my writing philosophy and as of now it seems to draw a lot from Expressionists. I have never taught in a classroom before. Thinking of the assignments that I would have my imaginary students do is rather intimidating, but thought-provoking. I don’t now if I will teach composition in the future, but even if I don’t, the teaching of English Literature cannot be entirely divorced from teaching of composition. At some point, I might have to give valuable advice to my students on how to work on their research papers.
I have previously maintained that good writing comes from good reading, voracious reading. However, there aren’t many college students who like to read anything at all. In high school they skim through the novels and books in their syllabi to achieve the grade they aim at. What I propose might seem unconventional, or even unrealistic, but I would like to build my first assignment around reading. I would talk to my class about their reading interests or rather whether they read at all or not. Then I would ask my students to convince me in an essay why reading is important for writing. Those who believe otherwise could write on why reading is not important at all. But they would have to do so in writing!
Second, I have seen many instructors that I have worked with use movies to teach summarizing. I think that is a great idea. Having students summarize their favorite movies or even movies that they don't like, could expose them to critical thinking. It would be interesting to have students convince their audience to not watch a movie rather than only have them summarize their favorite movies.
Since I am interested in teaching composition while keeping in mind the international students in our classes, I would like to introduce some writing exercises that focus on diversity as well as mutual respect for each others’ cultures. The first thing that troubles international students when they are abroad is the cultural shock. Acclimatizing to a new country and to new people is anything but easy. Writing in a language that is not your first tongue is even more daunting. At Texas Tech, we focus on rhetorical analysis. There are students who might not even understand the meaning of rhetoric in the first place. What can I do to usher in international students in a way that they do not feel intimidated by the alien education system? What can I do to teach them rhetoric in a way that doesn’t scare them away, both from my class and the education system in general?
I am thinking of having my students do an exercise that would ask them to convince each other to enroll in an educational institution in their respective countries for one semester. This would not only introduce the students to the various backgrounds that their classmates come from, but also to rhetoric, to the convincing power of rhetoric and the ultimate function of rhetoric. If they can understand how they are using rhetoric in their writing, they sure can do an analysis of it. Or so I hope. My only reservation about this kind of an exercise is that the international students might find it a bit hard to convince their peers to do something that they are not doing, which is attending colleges in their countries. That’s why I inserted the “one semester” requirement. I am still thinking of other exercises and this blog might see some editions in the coming days.
Nidhi--When teachers say they're doing making changes to their philosophy of teaching it can be a problem. That is, good teaching is reflective teaching, depending on the rhetorical situation (the teacher's growing knowledge/experience, the varying student need, and even the content that changes over time). It sounds like building your teaching around good principles of critical reading is a good move. Assigning teaching that is engaging to students yet offers the best models can be difficult, of course. Last Fall when I was in India I taught using a variety of American and Indian texts. http://richrice.com/FC001.004 I like your thinking focusing on diversity and multicultural perspectives, too. We should teach students to give their opinions (thesis statements), and back those up with persuasive appeals and research, and also to respect others' viewpoints. Have you had time to check out the QEP? I'd love to hear your take on it.
ReplyDeleteDr. Rice, thank you for your comments. I am a bit confused about your first observation. Did you mean that changing one's teaching philosophy over time is a bad idea? I thought that's what the blog prompt meant- that our teaching philosophies might change as we get a better understanding of the various theories.
DeleteI checked out the link you posted here and I like how you integrated American and Indian texts in your syllabus. I hope to achieve something similar in my syllabus and teaching philosophy.
I haven't had the chance to review the QEP yet, but I shall do so ASAP.
I love your focus on multiculturalism in the classroom - and after reading your post, I'm a bit shamed that I didn't think to consider those students while creating my own hypothetical assignments. We've been talking a lot about thinking "accessibility first" in the Disability Rhetoric course I'm taking this semester; one of the themes of our readings so far is that accessibility of the text - for all potential audiences - should come first. English as an Additional Language speakers included! I think there are a lot of great ways you can incorporate globalism into the classroom. I wouldn't worry too much about assignments that seem "too hard" - you can always work with the student to find a way that the assignment works for them. One of the difficulties in the balance will be finding a way to highlight those unique cultural experiences without making those students feel like a separate unit in the classroom. Keep us updated on any more assignments you think of; I'd love to hear them!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your thoughts, Aubrey. Your idea of "accessibility of the text" is superb! It seems like you have your own theory in the making there. I really like that idea. It is interesting to think in terms of accessibility. It's not only thought provoking but also exciting. May be we could continue our discussion of it in class and see how it can be applied in the class room while teaching international students.
Delete"What can I do to usher in international students in a way that they do not feel intimidated by the alien education system? What can I do to teach them rhetoric in a way that doesn’t scare them away, both from my class and the education system in general?"
ReplyDeleteI think about this issue a lot, as someone who immigrated to this country at a very young age, but was legally considered an "alien" (on a visa) for a very long time. I was categorized as an international student in college, for example--when I considered myself as being "from" Massachusetts. So, I think about international students who have just in the past couple years or months come to the American university, as well as all the in-between possibilities (folks on various visas, undocumented folks).
Perhaps acknowledging these myriad experiences is a first step; I'm imagining an assignment in which every student writes about a time he or she felt "out of place." This will perhaps be obvious for the international students, but I don't want assignments to inadvertently "other" them, single them out for some perceived "foreignness." I know this can be extremely painful. So, if everyone has to reflect on being "out of place" (in one's family, friend circle, neighborhood, city, region, country), then maybe as a class we can talk about both difference and commonality in some open-ended ways.
Thank you for your insightful comments, Chen. I really like your idea of the assignment involving the "othering" process for everybody. I also understand your reservations about such an assignment- that it could further "other" those who are already in that uncomfortable (at best) situation. Even I'm trying to think of ways that won't make them feel alienated. Assignments that are not tougher for them just because they come from other countries.
Delete