TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

Learning is a process. We learn over a period of time by trying first one thing and then another. Standards and requirements should be made clear to students, but everyone (the students and the teachers) should realize that knowing what is expected for the final product is not the same as knowing how to meet those expectations. The most interesting work reflects changes in perception as understanding grows. Contextualization of ideas is vital to knowledge. Good writing is like good coffee or chocolate: rich, thick, with a deep lingering flavor to it. Assignments should allow for an accretion of knowledge, as one idea builds on prior ideas, so that students’ work can enter into the conversations on the topic that have already taken place among writers.