Yay for you for being done!!!!! You made it!!!!!!! I have one research paper to finish over the weekend (I have a really rough draft already) and then I will join you at the finish line.
I'm sad that it is considered "naive" to think of students as (gasp!) people. I have found that using that approach inspires students to work harder, not shirk or slack off. However, other instructors find it simply amazing that my approach "works" in the classroom. I think that people have totally confused "authority" with "authoritarian." I am the authority on English comp in the room -- it is knowledge I have that the rest of them don't, which is why I'm at the front of the class, but that does not give me an excuse to cop an authoritarian attitude. Just because I know English comp doesn't give me the right to dominate or "take over" the class.
In fact, I make it clear that I am there for them, that the class is theirs, and we co-create how the class is going to go. I make myself available for anything they have ever wanted to ask or learn about composition. It is surprising how open and questioning they become after a few classes once they get that I'm not kidding -- they really can ask ANYTHING about the topic and I'll answer and explain it to them in a way that doesn't lead to them "feeling stupid," which is so much of what they have encountered before. When it comes time for assignments to be turned in, they want to do a good job 1) because they are not afraid of being chastised if they don't get it right the first time, 2) they have been convinced that it is all a learning experience and not some opportunity for judgment, and 3) I am willing to work with them on any problems they might be having. I make them wholly responsible for their grade and work, though am willing to update them throughout the semester about where they are and what they would need to do if they want a higher grade. Many of them really work hard to pull up their grades if the are falling behind; others don't care as much; I don't care at all -- it's all about what they want out of the experience.
So that's my theory of pedagogy, and life. I won't treat people differently just because they are students -- I don't believe in hierarchy, in the class or out of the class, and won't teach in a way that goes against my ethics or values. I love teaching, and it seems to certainly "work" to approach it this way. I have taken students who other instructors labeled as "barely literate" and had them writing A level compositions by the end of ten weeks. So much for being naive. ;<)
I'm sad that it is considered "naive" to think of students as (gasp!) people. I have found that using that approach inspires students to work harder, not shirk or slack off. However, other instructors find it simply amazing that my approach "works" in the classroom. I think that people have totally confused "authority" with "authoritarian." I am the authority on English comp in the room -- it is knowledge I have that the rest of them don't, which is why I'm at the front of the class, but that does not give me an excuse to cop an authoritarian attitude. Just because I know English comp doesn't give me the right to dominate or "take over" the class.
In fact, I make it clear that I am there for them, that the class is theirs, and we co-create how the class is going to go. I make myself available for anything they have ever wanted to ask or learn about composition. It is surprising how open and questioning they become after a few classes once they get that I'm not kidding -- they really can ask ANYTHING about the topic and I'll answer and explain it to them in a way that doesn't lead to them "feeling stupid," which is so much of what they have encountered before. When it comes time for assignments to be turned in, they want to do a good job 1) because they are not afraid of being chastised if they don't get it right the first time, 2) they have been convinced that it is all a learning experience and not some opportunity for judgment, and 3) I am willing to work with them on any problems they might be having. I make them wholly responsible for their grade and work, though am willing to update them throughout the semester about where they are and what they would need to do if they want a higher grade. Many of them really work hard to pull up their grades if the are falling behind; others don't care as much; I don't care at all -- it's all about what they want out of the experience.
So that's my theory of pedagogy, and life. I won't treat people differently just because they are students -- I don't believe in hierarchy, in the class or out of the class, and won't teach in a way that goes against my ethics or values. I love teaching, and it seems to certainly "work" to approach it this way. I have taken students who other instructors labeled as "barely literate" and had them writing A level compositions by the end of ten weeks. So much for being naive. ;<)
Glad you made it through!!!!! Happy summer!!!!!
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