Margaret Murray
Teaching Philosophy
When I first completed my
undergraduate education I applied to the Master’s of English at Stony Brook
because I knew that I loved to read and study English Literature. At that time I wrestled with the thought of
teaching but it was something that I thought I ought to do rather than
something I desired to do. However the
past few semesters have brought about a change in the way I look at academia
and what it means to study not only literature, but composition studies. Through the Certificate Program in
Composition Studies I was introduced to a much more student centered approach
of study concerned with the study of writing, particularly the teaching of
writing. I came to appreciate the
difficulties of teaching writing on both theoretical and pedagogical
levels. Now I can honestly say that I
don’t want to devote myself to a life where literature is primary and teaching
students is relegated to a secondary concern.
Instead I have made the choice to pursue a career in secondary English education
in the hopes that I will be instrumental in instilling in students both a love
of literature and the ability to use language to make meaning in a myriad of
contexts.
One lesson my background in
Composition theory has taught me is that “every pedagogy is imbricated in
ideology” and “to ignore this is to fail our responsibilities as teachers” (
In order to maintain a level of
credibility with your students there should always be a clear link between your
academic goals and objectives in the classroom and the way the classroom is
managed. This is the challenge which Alfie
Kohn puts forth. If we only require
obedience of our students then we are failing to teach our students to think
for themselves and question the world around them. What Kohn requires is that students do not
obey so much as enter into an agreement to partake in the learning experiences
that the teacher guides them through.
This applies to all aspects of the classroom experience. Even assignments should be integrated into a
meaningful context since “students frequently perceive the tasks they are given
as not worth doing – and sometimes with good meaning” since
”skills-based intellectual tasks” and “worksheets and textbooks and lectures are
hard to justify pedagogically” (Kohn 19).
If we want students to learn we need to come up with meaningful tasks
which can be contextualized into some learning goals and objectives which
students will be able to identify with as having some relevance in their
lives. He is advocating a classroom
atmosphere where teacher and students work collaboratively towards
objectives. Learning results not from a
desire for a reward or in fear of disciplinary action, but from an
understanding of the goals and objectives that can be gleaned from a lesson on
the part of the students.
Returning to writing, a Kohnesque
approach means that it is simply not enough to teach students how to write
correctly. They must learn why certain
forms work the way they do and in doing so they will be on the road to learning
how they can manipulate language in many different contexts. This echoes with Bartholomae’s sentiments “I
would rather teach or preside over a critical writing, one where the critique
is worked out in practice, and for lack of better terms I would call that
writing, “academic writing” (Bartholomae 488).
Language can be a great source of power for those who learn how to
properly wield its power, but it is only through mastery of the forms that
students will be able to negotiate between academic and spoken languages to
formulate their own unique voice in society.
Here the readings in this class have
come into play in helping me conceptualize the types of classroom practices
that could help me. When students get together
for peer editing I now know of ways that I can set up the activity to
predispose them to giving more positive, more productive criticism. One way is to have them follow Daiker’s model
and start with “I like the way you...” to talk about each other’s work. When having them work collaboratively on a
piece of writing, or on an analysis it is helpful to give them guidelines to
follow so that they will be guided in their approach. Dunn’s article also points to different
activities that can be used to enrich students’ revision processes such as
drawing a picture of their essay, coming up with a metaphor for their writing,
or using index cards as movable elements of a text to use in drafting.
Another aspect which this semester’s
readings have brought into focus is the need to focus not only on writings, but
other forms of literacy as well. Timothy
Shanahan describes learning as traversing a landscape, “Learning occurs best
from criss-crossing a landscape several times and from different perspectives”
(Shanahan 69). The content of a class is
the landscape students experience through a combination of reading, writing,
and discussing different aspects of that content. Students learn by approaching information
through multiple perspectives which are designed to get them to think about a
topic in different ways. Dr. Patricia
Dunn encourages that we add more alternatives to the traditional classroom
activities by adding drawing and dance to our repertoires. The goal of education is “to stimulate
thinking in ways that are familiar for all students some of the time and
unfamiliar to all students some of the time” (Dunn 87). Instead of reading a text , writing a
response and maybe having a teacher led question and answer session, this
multifaceted approach means that every text, theme, unit is an occasion to get
students involved in the learning process.
Through reading, writing essays, class discussion, formulating artistic
visuals, collaborative writing assignments, oral journals, presentations and
countless other activities students become involved in making meaning out of
the texts they read. In terms of content
materials this means that traditional literature readings be complimented by
nonfiction readings, song lyrics, music, movies, news shows and other genres
which will give students the opportunity to experience a wide range of texts.
When it comes to approaching texts in
the classroom I aspire to draw on Reader Response, postcolonial, feminist,
Marxist, New Historicism, and Social
Constructivist theories in addition to New Critical theory so that my approach
to the texts will foster the critical thinking and literacy skills I wish to
cultivate in my students. I like the
idea of thinking of teaching theory in the classroom as providing students with
a literary toolkit, similarly to the way Wheeler advocates we provide our
students with a linguistic toolkit. This
way they will be able to approach texts from different perspectives and make
different meanings as they continue to read beyond the classroom. In some cases this means explicitly teaching
students about the different schools of theory, but most likely these theories
will operate in shaping the types of questions I might ask students to
consider. Through modeling different
types of questions and approaches I will encourage my students to take an
active part in the reading process to engage with the social forces which
operate within a text, as well as those a text operates within.
Assessment is another element which
deserves consideration since gauges the success of learning in the
classroom. It is crucial that
assessment be contextualized and ongoing if it is to play a useful role in
furthering learning in the classroom. This
means that assessment should not be based on a number of de-contextualized
tests and writing assignments. Instead
assessment should be an ongoing process where formal assessment instruments
including tests and essays must be a part of the process rather than a single
instrument used after learning is done.
These are to be augmented by informal assessments which note progress
towards a goal and self-assessments by both the teacher and students. Not only should assessment be gauging the
students learning, but it also should be evaluating and assessing the
effectiveness of the curriculum and the teacher.
The core of my philosophy is that the
English Language Arts class is a place where students develop literacy skills
which will enable them to make meaning out of the texts which they will
encounter not only in the classroom or on a test, but in their lives. I will always hope that as a by product of
the class students will come to appreciate the literary works they read as a
part of their class, but now I see that the English Language Arts class is much
more than a literature class. It is the
place where students learn critical literacy skills which they will need to
succeed in their adult lives. As a
teacher it is my mission and my duty to do all in my power to develop critical
thinking and literacy skills in my students so that they will fully be able to
function as aware members of society.
Works Cited
Bartholomae, David. “Inventing the University”. From When a Writer Can’t Write: Studies in
Writer’s Block and Other Composing-Proccess Problems. ED Mike Rose.
Berlin, James. “Rhetoric and
Ideology in the Writing Class” College
English. V. 50 No. 5 September 1988 pp.477-494
Christenbury, Leila. Making the Journey: Being and Becoming a
Teacher of English Language Arts. Boynton/Cook Heinemann.
Dunn, Patricia. Talking, Sketching, Moving: Multiple Literacies in the Teaching of Writing. Boynton/Cook Heinemann, 2001
Kohn, Alfie. Beyond Discipline: From Compliance to Community. Merrill Prentice
Hall.
Shanahan, Timothy. “Overcoming
the Dominance of Communication: Writing to Think and to Learn”. Adolescent Literacy Research and Practice.
Ed. Jetton, Tamara & Dole, Janice.