As I See It...

I must say, I have definitely changed my outlook on teaching composition in the high school language arts classroom. I have kept what I believe works well for me in the composition classroom (the old school methods), but have also embraced the other philosophies about writing in the classroom. This has been quite a journey for me, but I believe that I have become a better teacher through this experience in 501.

My teaching practices have changed over the course of this semester. I am more open to new teaching strategies concerning composition. We teach how we were taught, that is usually what happens to most teachers. Whether we learn from our own teachers in school or our peers in our department we tend to mimic those people. Stagnation becomes an issue for teachers who do not look to advance their teaching methods. Becoming stagnant causes out-dated teachers. I was beginning to feel that way. But now, I am looking outside the box and experimenting with the philosophies I have learned about composition. It is okay to use first person pronouns in a formal piece of writing, it is acceptable to not focus so much on grammatical mistakes and errors in an essay (that was a difficult one to accept), and technology is not the devil. I wouldn't say I have compromised my pedagogical beliefs in the classroom, only modified them. I think giving students more control over their writing allows them to produce a well-written document. Teaching them the processes of thinking, writing, articulating, listening, etc. empowers them to find success in any task they attempt to complete.

I feel I no longer need to focus on the modes of writing; I still need to teach the modes of writing as methods to communicate, but when to use those modes is more important than actually spending the time teaching them. Student need the freedom to find thier own voice in thier writing; once they do that, they will find success in a trusted learning environment only because the teacher allows for that to happen. I want my kids to be able to communicate what they think in a very clear, precise manner while having the ability to address many different types of audiences. The process by which it takes to get to the final convincing product is what matters most. They will be able to communicate, articulate, and influence many different people by thinking about what they have to say.