Statement of Teaching Philosophy

            My teaching philosophy stems from my deep belief that literature and language can be sources of creation in a world focused on destruction. I want my classroom to be a place in which confidence, compassion, and broad world views are created within my students in order to help them navigate well throughout the rest of their lives.

            In order for students to develop a sense of self worth and self understanding, I envision my classroom as a haven where students can escape the pressures of the outside world. In having a safe place to think deeply and critically without distraction or disrespect, my hope is that students will apply the morals of literature to their own lives in order to help them sort through the difficulties they face daily.

I also believe that encouraging students to be more responsible for themselves will foster greater self worth. Therefore, I will expect students to be prepared with note-taking supplies each day, to turn in all assignments on time, and to understand that leeway such as extra-credit and late papers will not be a part of my class. In this way, students will take more pride in their work and will feel a greater satisfaction upon completing a task. I want students to be challenged but not overwhelmed.

 If nothing else, I want my students to start practicing the art of empathy. By realizing that, at some point in history, an author felt the same emotions as they, students can begin to see how connected human beings really are even through barriers of space and time. I envision myself throwing out questions about a text that encourage students to think critically; this means that I plan on conducting class discussion on a daily basis. I see class discussions revolving heavily around character analysis and author biographies in relation to the text as a way to show that fellow human beings should be the focus of our lives.

            In order for my students to construct a solid mindset about the world, I plan to integrate many disciplines besides English into class lectures and discussion. I envision my lesson plans including topics such as history and how it influences the particular piece of writing we are studying. I see myself presenting many paintings and sculptures and discussing how visual art and literary art tend to change and evolve simultaneously. I see assignments asking students to research current political controversies and show how they relate to a novel, play, or poem. I see students doing exercises dealing with math and music to learn how those are the keys to unlocking poetical form. In this way, both the students who are fond of English and those who are not can find application and meaning in the discipline by referencing other topics that may be of interest to them.

            In order to assess a student’s progress in both self and world discovery, I will require a large amount of reading and a large amount of writing. When reading texts as a class, we will follow an intense reading schedule so as not to run the risk of losing comprehension, or worse, interest. Also, most works that are read will be accompanied by some form of writing task, whether it be an essay, a journal entry, or a creative writing assignment.

            In essence, I hope students leaving my class will find themselves with the confidence to tackle daunting projects, an insatiable desire for literature, writing, and learning, and a capacity to empathize with those around them.  I want them to leave having proven to themselves that they achieved great things—they did it—and I was simply the coach cheering them on in the background.