For a list + descriptions of the courses I've taught, click here.
Teaching is embodied.
Teaching requires transparency.
Teaching is always a performance.
My philosophy of teaching revolves around these three ideas. When I teach I bring all of myself into the classroom. As a teacher it is my job to be transparent about how I embody my intersectional identities and how this embodiment effects the way I see the text or writing task in front of me. Because I am so transparent with my embodied identities, as well as my process of teaching, I have found that students are more likely to be vulnerable in the classroom and be open to sitting with uncomfortable ideas. In all of my classes the discussions center around deconstructing systems of power while holding space for multiple embodied perspectives. I believe that one of the most powerful things that the liberal arts can do is teach students to hold space for ideas that they don’t agree with, while having the tools to interrogate problems and decide for themselves.
The three ideas of embodiment, transparency, and performance extend to how I understand my students. For example, I keep in mind that my students are more than bodies in a classroom—they are people with complicated, complex experiences and lives. I ask my students to bring all of themselves into the classroom and to use their embodied knowledge as a starting point for interrogating why and how they see the world the way that they do. To this end, the assignments in my courses are inquiry based. When brainstorming topics for a paper or a speech, students start by making lists of things: things that are important to them, things that they know how to do, identities that they embody, and communities they are a part of. In the Introduction to Professional Writing course, I encourage students to think about how they are already engaging with professional writing. I have found that it is easier for students to feel invested in a project when they are discussing something that is personally interesting to them; explaining something personal to the class through peer review or paper presentations helps them to see how their own world view is constructed. As a result of this process, I have had students do presentations on professional writing that include work as a Cam Girl, a Tarot reader, and Brand Ambassador. These examples help push the boundaries of what is considered professional writing and the discussions these presentations spark show the students’ abilities to recognize and examine systems of power.
In addition to looking inward to examine one’s positionality, many of my classes then focus outward to the communities that students are already a part of. The three ideas at the core of my philosophy of teaching culminate in the idea and application of civic engagement. This connection comes from my work in writing centers, which function as spaces for both the academy and the community. For example, in my most recent Professional Writing in Community Contexts class, we spent the first part of the semester mapping out our identities and communities in order to see how we are positioned in the world. In the second half of the semester, the students worked with the Forsyth Public Library to plan and implement a Zine Fest for the community. The day of the event, the students used their writing center training to help community members make their own zines. Student reflections after the event revealed moments of self-reflection and an understanding of their individual positionality from the process of planning and working at the event. My goal with community engaged work is that these experiences make the students ethical, thoughtful, collaborative citizens in their lives beyond the course.
Finally, I recognize that both the work that students turn in to me, as well as their actions in class, are types of performance; they often try to do things because they think that that is what I want. I try to encourage them to be transparent with me about why and how they do their work. For example, in my first year and basic writing courses I take a “writing center consultation” approach and have one-on-one conferences with every student for every major project. During these 30-minute sessions we read through their final drafts together and I am able to ask them why they chose to use a certain structure, word, or thesis statement. Many students have commented in written reflections that these conferences were among the most helpful resources in the class. Talking with students about the choices they made helps break down the power dynamic in the classroom and allows students to feel more responsible for their writing.
The three ideas of embodiment, transparency and performance permeate my work as a teacher and I look forward to continuing this work in the future.
Teaching requires transparency.
Teaching is always a performance.
My philosophy of teaching revolves around these three ideas. When I teach I bring all of myself into the classroom. As a teacher it is my job to be transparent about how I embody my intersectional identities and how this embodiment effects the way I see the text or writing task in front of me. Because I am so transparent with my embodied identities, as well as my process of teaching, I have found that students are more likely to be vulnerable in the classroom and be open to sitting with uncomfortable ideas. In all of my classes the discussions center around deconstructing systems of power while holding space for multiple embodied perspectives. I believe that one of the most powerful things that the liberal arts can do is teach students to hold space for ideas that they don’t agree with, while having the tools to interrogate problems and decide for themselves.
The three ideas of embodiment, transparency, and performance extend to how I understand my students. For example, I keep in mind that my students are more than bodies in a classroom—they are people with complicated, complex experiences and lives. I ask my students to bring all of themselves into the classroom and to use their embodied knowledge as a starting point for interrogating why and how they see the world the way that they do. To this end, the assignments in my courses are inquiry based. When brainstorming topics for a paper or a speech, students start by making lists of things: things that are important to them, things that they know how to do, identities that they embody, and communities they are a part of. In the Introduction to Professional Writing course, I encourage students to think about how they are already engaging with professional writing. I have found that it is easier for students to feel invested in a project when they are discussing something that is personally interesting to them; explaining something personal to the class through peer review or paper presentations helps them to see how their own world view is constructed. As a result of this process, I have had students do presentations on professional writing that include work as a Cam Girl, a Tarot reader, and Brand Ambassador. These examples help push the boundaries of what is considered professional writing and the discussions these presentations spark show the students’ abilities to recognize and examine systems of power.
In addition to looking inward to examine one’s positionality, many of my classes then focus outward to the communities that students are already a part of. The three ideas at the core of my philosophy of teaching culminate in the idea and application of civic engagement. This connection comes from my work in writing centers, which function as spaces for both the academy and the community. For example, in my most recent Professional Writing in Community Contexts class, we spent the first part of the semester mapping out our identities and communities in order to see how we are positioned in the world. In the second half of the semester, the students worked with the Forsyth Public Library to plan and implement a Zine Fest for the community. The day of the event, the students used their writing center training to help community members make their own zines. Student reflections after the event revealed moments of self-reflection and an understanding of their individual positionality from the process of planning and working at the event. My goal with community engaged work is that these experiences make the students ethical, thoughtful, collaborative citizens in their lives beyond the course.
Finally, I recognize that both the work that students turn in to me, as well as their actions in class, are types of performance; they often try to do things because they think that that is what I want. I try to encourage them to be transparent with me about why and how they do their work. For example, in my first year and basic writing courses I take a “writing center consultation” approach and have one-on-one conferences with every student for every major project. During these 30-minute sessions we read through their final drafts together and I am able to ask them why they chose to use a certain structure, word, or thesis statement. Many students have commented in written reflections that these conferences were among the most helpful resources in the class. Talking with students about the choices they made helps break down the power dynamic in the classroom and allows students to feel more responsible for their writing.
The three ideas of embodiment, transparency and performance permeate my work as a teacher and I look forward to continuing this work in the future.
