Kerri Koch

CEE 588- Methods I

Professor Dunn

Revised Teaching Philosophy

December 9, 2004

 

 

The rhetorical situation:

This teaching philosophy is a letter to myself that I will open on my twentieth anniversary of teaching.  We often hear that there is a point where teachers burn out and forget what inspired them to become teachers in the first place.  This letter is to remind me of the reasons I chose this profession, in case I need a little inspiring. 

 

Dear Kerri,

 

            If you are reading this letter you have been teaching for twenty years.  I am writing this letter in my one room apartment at Stony Brook University where I am currently in the process of certifying to be an English teacher.  At the beginning of this semester, I was asked to write a teaching philosophy.  My first philosophy talked about me wanting students to love reading and writing.  It also talked about Mr. Kuhn, substitute teaching, and tutoring.  Although I am going to talk about all of these things again it is the end of the semester, and I have changed all of my thoughts about pedagogy.  I have read so many textbooks, articles, and have become a member of the National Council of English Teachers (NCTE).  I want you to remember all of these things as you are reading this letter, and I want to you remember why and how you became a teacher.

            I no longer want students to just love reading and writing; I want them to have the intrinsic desire to read and write.  I was sitting in Adolescent Literature class this semester, and Professor Dunn was telling us about the NCTE conference that she attended the week before.  She heard Alfie Kohn speak at the conference and was reading her notes to us.  All of sudden, I had an epiphany and everything I thought about teaching changed.  I want you to remember this epiphany.  Alfie Kohn asked the audience if they were teachers of literature or teachers of students.  When I wrote my first philosophy I would have answered that question as a teacher of literature.  Today, my answer would be as a teacher of students.  My only hope is that you, after twenty years of teaching, feel the same way.  Of course I love literature and writing, but that is not the reason I am in this program.  And I must remind you that when we started college, we wanted to be a Spanish teacher.  The subject changed, but the profession did not.  The moment the subject changed from Spanish to English happened in the Writing Center.

            I want you to remember the first time you tutored a student at DCC.  You were so nervous, but when the session was over you felt so good about yourself.  I was just reading our case study about Manal.  She was the student that you tutored for almost two years that I still think about today as I am writing this philosophy.  She was the first person you taught.  I just looked at the first paper and the last paper you helped her with before you graduated.  What a difference you made in her writing and college experience.  One of the reasons that you and her got along so well was that her native language was Spanish.  You were able to talk to her in both English and Spanish to explain some of the errors in her papers and why she was making those errors.  Her sentence structure was in Spanish, but her words were in English.  This experience and many others helped you to be a better tutor when you transferred to SBU. 

            When you first arrived at Stony Brook University, you were in culture shock.  I do not have to remind you that your high school graduating class consisted of 98 white students.  During your first semester you were scared to work at the Writing Center because you knew you would encounter more ESL students than anything else.  You took that first semester and read everything you could about ESL tutoring, you consulted your old director, and even revisited your notes from NEWCA to try and prepare yourself to get the courage to apply to be a tutor.  But, as luck would have it, the Writing Center director from SBU emailed you after he talked to your former director and asked you to come in to submit hours.  Tutoring at SBU was rewarding because it pushed you to continue to read and learn about tutoring (something you thought you had mastered at DCC).  Today, as I am writing this letter to you I still work at the Writing Center, and I want you to recall the email you got from Yen Mei’s professor the other day.  He thanked you for making her understand how vital the revising process was, giving her enthusiasm about her writing, and reaching her in a way that he could not.  You also pushed yourself after receiving your B.A. to substitute teach.  You went back to your hometown and were hired on the spot.  You did not have much time, because you were coming back to SBU but you subbed in the elementary school, among all your old teachers.  It was an experience and it gave you your first glimpse into the “real” life of a teacher.  You knew that younger kids were not for you.  You had always wanted to teach high school, and this experience confirmed that for you. 

            If I have not yet reminded you why exactly why you became a teacher in the first place I will leave you with thoughts of Mr. Kuhn, your high school English teacher.  In both your personal statement and your first philosophy you talked about Mr. Kuhn.  Think back to high school, what was your favorite subject?  I know the answer because I am you.  It was English, but not because of the reading and writing.  Reading and writing is a taste we began to love only in college.  We loved English because of Mr. Kuhn.  He was intelligent, passionate, and an extremely funny.  His classroom looked more like a personal library with rugs, books, and posters.  The desks were in a circle, including Mr. Kuhn’s desk.  The class was personal and fun.  He was the first teacher that did not expect his students to regurgitate his answers.  He told us on the first day that the only thing he wanted us to get from the class was to be independent thinkers.  Today, I realize he was just saying that because there were so many things he wanted us to get from the class, that was just his point of departure.  His students were allowed to be themselves, and in turn they learned.  I want you to remember his class, and how he inspired you to be a teacher.  You wanted to be just like him.  You wanted to have a smile on your face everyday, like he did when he was teaching.  Today, I still look to him for teaching guidance.  Before I sat down to write my first lesson plan this semester, I called him to talk about the good old days of my high school English class.  I hope that your inspiration still comes from the feeling you got from his class- that will keep you grounded in thinking about your students more than anything else.   

            I want you to take all of the memories from your road to becoming a teacher and re-evaluate your classroom.  Are you as passionate as I am today about teaching?  If the answer is no, go to a conference or visit Mr. Kuhn or the Writing Center.  I am becoming a teacher and you have been teaching for twenty years.  We are teaching students reading and writing.  Remember your students come first, that is what makes a good English teacher.  I have no doubt that you are keeping up on the discipline and always challenging yourself, but you might have forgotten the real reason for teaching- students are the future.                 

 

                                                                                                      Your Former Self,

                                                                                                                    

 

 

                  Kerri Marie Koch

        (22 year old graduate student)