Seminar in Teaching Writing

Introduction

My English 611 class was the most difficult class of the semester. It was not difficult for the usual reasons, like too much homework and reading. Instead, it was difficult because it was my first introduction to the teaching of writing. Before the class, I believed anyone could learn to write. I still believe that, however, I have a better understanding of the work that goes into teaching writing. I used to think the process was simple; writing has always been simple for me at least. My eyes were quickly opened to the wide world of pedagogies, process and product styles of teaching, and, of course, Kenneth Burke. There were so many names and terms that at times I felt like I was drowing in a sea of articles and essays. How was I expected to remeber everything I had learned? How did it relate to my emphasis, literature? Who did I identify the most with? What pedagogy, if any, did I want to use when teaching a first year composition course? What were the battles worth fighting for within an English department? How would I deal with the politics of teaching, something that had never figured in my mind when I chose my career profession? Would I be able to handle the pressures involved with teaching and the expectation that I would need to get published? These, and many more questions, were asked during the weeks of class. Some questions were answered, and some will possibly never get answered.

In this seminar class, I learned that asking the questions were half the battle. How else were you to improve on your teaching methods if you never questioned them? I actucally had an advantage while in the class. Since I knew nothing about the teaching of writing, the reading and writing assignments were most impressionable on me. I was "tabula rasa," blank slate. I have now filled the pages of my blank slate with many new ideas that I could utilize in a classroom. It has been an eye-opening and liberating experience. The thoughts, reflections, and ideas I learned in the class, and that I identified the most with, have culminated to this point in the semester, my final product.

Within the pages of my web site, I have four main sections: Syllabus, Autoethnography, Professional Career Ironies, Composition Scholar, and Grading Rubric. Under the syllabus section, I have a three week syllabus for a potentional first year composition course I could teach at Dominican University of California, located in San Rafael. I have included a list of defenses and critiques for the choices I made on my syllabus. Under the autoethnography section, I examine my personal reasons for wanting to be a professor of literature and writing. The professional career ironies sections gave me an outlet where I could examine one of the issues involved with teaching, and possible ways of dealing with or understanding the issue. I utilize Kenneth Burke's model of examination to defend my position. The last section, compostion scholar, gave me the opportunity to examine, more fully, the life and scholarly viewpoint of John Trimbur, a researcher in the area of collaborative and cultural studies. Under each larger section I have included other information I found useful and that I wanted to share with the Internet community. I have also properly cited any sources I reference within the confines of these pages in sections labeled, Bibliography, under each larger heading.

Despite the stress associated with so many deadlines during finals week, I believe this project is a great forum where I can connect ideas I learned in class. I can visually see my ideas as I lay them out, and can also offer them for viewing to the online community as a whole. I fully intend to keep my website updated and possibly save my coding so I can transfer info to another site after I leave HSU. It has been a tiring, but enlightening, semester. This project reflects all I have learned, and want to continue to learn, in the field if composition and rhetoric.