Teaching

Teaching Philosophy Statement

My teaching philosophy is based on the belief that I am at my most successful as an educator when I am able to create a classroom that is a thriving space of community. I believe that the potential of the constructed space of the “classroom” is that students can engage in academic inquiry with the freedom to expand their critical thinking skills in an environment that is nurturing and generative. I encourage students to think of the classroom space and engagement with their classmates as practice for good citizenship. I believe that the basis of a strong democratic society is one in which individuals are given time to think and process new ideas and civilly engage with other people in a way that feels productive. Rich and vibrant discussions can be invigorating and exciting for students when they discover they can disagree but still gain different perspectives. I also believe that school communities are different and varied, and any seasoned educator understands that it is important to engage the students that you have in the space that you have them. I have taught elementary English and junior high Science at a Catholic school in a rural community. I have also taught at an HBCU, and two PWI’s, as well as community college. I have learned that I am successful when I try to understand the specific needs and experiences of students in their idiosyncratic environments.  As a Black woman educator, I have had unique experiences and challenges in teaching, especially having experiences in so many different and varied school environments. I have had to adjust and adapt my communication styles, ways of relating and engaging while still maintaining a core sense of self and confidence in skills and abilities. I believe that this is one of my strongest traits as an educator, because I can also help students who are struggling or need guidance in how to navigate environments in education or the workforce where they will face similar challenges.

I also believe that the basis of a strong democratic society is one in which individuals are given time to think and process new ideas and civilly engage with other people in a way that feels productive. While Xavier is an HBCU, our student population is not homogenous and often contains students from Latin American and Asian diasporas. In particular, there is a notable population of Vietnamese American students. There is also strong potential for engaging these students in an HBCU environment. Vibrant discussions can be invigorating and exciting for students when they discover they can disagree but still gain different perspectives. I also believe that school communities are different and varied, and any seasoned educator understands that it is important to engage the students that you have in the space that you have them. I have learned that I am successful when I try to understand students' specific needs and experiences in their idiosyncratic environments.  

My main goal in a literature and culture classroom is cultivating an appreciation for literature, reading, and discussion. I prefer a discussion-based approach to a lecture, as I think it is important for students to engage with texts and their classmates directly. At Xavier, an HBCU with a population primarily young, Black, and female, there is so much potential for transformative teaching in this subject! Discussing the ideas in these texts that relate directly to their lives, experiences, and culture is imperative.

I design assignments that allow students to present their perspectives and opinions about their interests and values in relation to English. An assignment I have done at the end of the semester is for students to design their own “syllabus” or reading lists for the course. Here students can articulate their tastes and interests and potential research ideas and projects for further inquiry. In my African American Literature I course, students designed course reading lists with topics like “African Spirituals and Songs of Slavery,” “The Black Family During Slavery and Reconstruction,” “African American Poetry,” and “The New Negro at the Turn of the Century.” This research can become the basis for senior projects or graduate work for advanced English students. This assignment has helped students articulate specific interests beyond writing traditional essays. Students relish communicating their interests to me, their classmates, and themselves. I also believe in emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches to teaching literature. Most students in any given literature class will not be English majors. I want them to find the class useful to their interests, so I encourage them to create projects that interpret the course material through their majors. In the course I created Black Hair Narratives, the student projects included paintings, mini-documentaries, interviews, and student survey projects that interrogated their community’s attitudes toward the course subject. Students expressed that they felt the final projects reflected their interests and unique abilities. I also include ethnographic assignments in this class, where students interview a classmate and another individual of their choosing outside the university community. Then, students perform a rhetorical analysis of these interviews that looks at word choice and specific phrasing to connect ideas about Black hair with cultural trends and discourses in feminism, folklore, and African diasporic literature.

In a composition classroom, I seek to demystify the writing process and encourage students to embrace the identity of being a writer. Many students come to the composition classroom intimidated and anxious. Even students confident in their writing abilities are plagued with feelings of self-doubt when encountering a new instructor or an assignment that is unfamiliar to them. For most major writing assignments, I have students make reflective responses on at each stage of the writing process to think about their feelings about writing and reflect on any anxieties they may have. I also emphasize to my students that writing begins long before someone has picked up a pen or typed one letter. Most students’ understanding of pre-writing involves brainstorming and making outlines. However, I expand it to include reading, conversations with classmates and friends in and outside of the classroom, and any observations they may have about the topic they may be writing about. My composition classroom includes engaging many forms of writing and emphasizing process-oriented composition assignments. Research has shown that incidents of plagiarism are more likely to occur when students are given high-stakes writing assignments or assignments that are heavily weighted and graded primarily on the final draft. Reframing the writing process as one of engagement with ideas and not just skill sets is important. Also, in “High Stakes and Low Stakes in Assigning and Responding to Writing, UMass Professor Emeritus Peter Elbow notes that “writing is better than speaking for low stakes uses.” Therefore, I assign small, low-stakes writing assignments that include journal entries, blog posts, and short responses that allow students to engage their ideas in an informal way that encourages them to continue writing practices beyond the classroom. Students create multiple drafts of their work so that they understand that writing is a process. The goal is not perfection and the belief in one final complete document but to embrace the idea of revision. Here, I look to the work of Kiese Laymon as a model students can use to understand that almost all work is a work in progress, even after it is published! Laymon, a Black Southern writer, has revised published essays and even a novel because his writing philosophy does not rely on the belief that knowledge is absolute and concrete. Students find this approach freeing. It enables them to take risks in their writing that can lead to assignments that possess real nerve and perspective. I want students to feel curious and confident enough to take chances without feeling the pressure of perfection. In addition, with A.I. technology rapidly advancing, many composition instructors understand that the only way to keep up with this technology is to emphasize process-oriented writing pedagogy. Not only does this emphasize critical thinking skills in creating and composing, but it also allows the field of composition to accommodate and incorporate these rapid technological changes without sacrificing the dignity and purpose of the composition classroom.

Ultimately, I believe that the English classroom should not alienate students. Not all students enjoy writing or reading, but these are necessary skills. Mastering these skills is imperative for success in the job market and life. What I try to do in my classroom is make learning them as accessible as possible while pushing students to reach their maximum potential. My teaching philosophy is based on the belief that I am at my most successful as an educator when I successfully create a classroom that is a thriving community. I believe that the potential of the constructed space of the “classroom” is that students can engage in academic inquiry with the freedom to expand their critical thinking skills in a nurturing and generative environment. I encourage students to think of the classroom space and engagement with their classmates as practice for good citizenship. It is imperative to engage in Xavier University’s mission to promote a more just and humane society by developing pedagogical strategies that enable students to confront their values and belief systems through the lens of my discipline, English.