What is your teaching philosophy?

The importance of being able to write well cannot be underestimated. Without question, the most marketable candidates for jobs communicate effectively in person and on the page. Because life requires critical thinking, organizational thought, and analysis skills, everyone needs to learn how to construct arguments, summarize material in a comprehensive yet concise way, and use the rules of grammar in a way that conveys ideas clearly, and yes, on the page (or screen). I believe that instruction without student engagement is ineffective. As an online teaching assistant, I enjoyed assigning a reading list, interacting with students in discussions, and providing constructive feedback on their essays. Despite being across the country from them, I challenged them to consider the reading process as part of the writing process. They took notes, asked questions, and collaborated with their classmates to better understand the material. I helped them apply their critical thinking to life outside the classroom and to their own writing. Not only did I see them grow and flourish, but one of the students was accepted to the MFA program at the university. Before that, I was an online English tutor for three years. This job helped me to evaluate the current educational system at the college level. I noticed trends - students are often not provided with a formal and detailed education in grammar, organization, and argumentative skills. While everyone has a different understanding of grammar, providing a refresher of punctuation and sentence structure is helpful to all. Furthermore, learning how to organize sentences into coherent and complete paragraphs and paragraphs into thoughtful essays is key for proving a point. A strong thesis statement is essential to any good paper, and research is a vital process in composing a convincing and well-informed piece. With all of these tools in their writing tool belts, students will have the ability to write well. My strategies for student engagement include using prompts, readings, and discussions to interact with their peers and me as their instructor. Using subjects students care about and want to explore fosters passion and connection. Just getting them to put pen to page (or fingers to keyboard) in the effort of stimulating their thought processes can help them to get over some of their frustrations. I want to encourage students to make the most of the drafting process. After all, a rough draft is a rough draft (and a crucial step). For a skill so essential to educational and professional development to be boring in students' eyes is unacceptable. I believe in working with students, rather than telling them what to do. As an instructor, my hope is to get students excited about writing by exploring their passions.