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Taylor Carlic

English Education Teaching Philosophy

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Teaching Literature:

When I think of an English classroom, I like to think of the teacher and the students as a

band. In this band you are going to have a front man, the teacher, and the students who make up

the rest of the band. For a band to be successful there has to be cooperation between the

members. The band works together to become a complete unit. Bands who do not work

together fall apart and do not succeed. Much like how a classroom will fall apart if the students

and teacher cannot work together.

In this cooperative classroom, learning occurs on both sides. For this learning to begin,

the teacher and students have to respect each other. The teacher has to respect the opinions of

the students, and the students have to respect what the teacher has to say. When this trust is

made between teacher and students, as well as students to students, a student-centered classroom

can begin to take form. In a band, if a member is afraid to speak up about a performance or

about a song that they should try to play, the band begins to fail. This is the same scenario in a

classroom, if a student is afraid to

speak up during discussion, or in

group work the student is going to be

hindering their ability to learn.

Students need to work together with

the teacher to help conduct a quality

learning atmosphere. Richard Beach

says that “one problem with [student centered learning] is that it leaves the responsibility for

learning up to the student” (7). Learning can become a problem when the “band” begins to fall

apart; however, when the students work together they will begin to “learn through participation

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in social contexts or communities” (Beach et al. 7). Learning through social contact allows the

classroom to feel like a community rather than the teacher preaching to the students. If the

students are not comfortable talking to each other about the texts they read, activities will be

used to help build a community between the students to ensure a student-centered classroom.

Socio-Cultural learning also helps create this “band-like” feel to a classroom. In this

environment the students are forced to learn through each other. As a teacher my job is going

“to socialize them into membership into this community – to show them what it is like to be the

kind of person who values participation in a literary community” (Beach et al. 8). Acting like a

tour-guide to literature is essential for this teaching practice to work. Teaching in a socio-

cultural classroom will allow me to guide my students through a piece of literature; then let them

take the reins, and work with each other to create their own interpretations of a text. Utilizing a

socio-cultural environment and a student-centered approach allows the students to take control

and become the front-man of the band. Having this community will produce some great learning

between students and teacher. A band that has this type of communication are able to work

together and create great music.

Teaching literary canon is never going to go away, and students are hard-pressed to enjoy

these texts. As teacher I want to be able to engage the students in the canon texts with the

promise to read a “relative” modern text. Teaching literary canon is becoming an aspect of

English literature that teachers are looking to pass over, yet the texts have the ability to remain an

important feature to our classrooms. Teachers need to figure out a way to make these older texts

more accessible for the students. Although it is tempting to replace older texts with new ones,

the students need to experience the timeless themes that the canon possesses. When the students

become accustomed to engaging with these themes, it will become easier to recognize the same

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themes in modern texts. Reading the canon texts also allow students to “track the history of our

aesthetic judgments” (Beach et al. 76). These older texts allow the students to enter a portal to a

different time and experience that time without living in it. Being able to reflect and learn from

the past are important aspects of teaching books from the literary canon.

Although it is important to teach these texts,

it is also important to maintain the students’

willingness to read, and this is where modern

texts come in. The image of the cannon blasting

readers into the modern texts helps to

incorporate canon with these texts. While a

book like Catcher in the Rye may engage students, it may be hard for them to relate to Holden

Caulfield. Students would be more likely to relate to a character like Bone from Rule of the

Bone. The themes are similar in the two books, but the times in which they were written will

appeal to different lifestyles. It is going to be important for me and my students that we work

with both of these types of texts. Studying canon and modern texts together give the students an

opportunity to make more text to text, text to self, and text to world connections. Studying both

of these texts allows the students to gain perspective into two different times; and even the times

may be different, they will find out the themes in the books are universal.

A teacher cannot rely solely on teaching literary canon or modern literature. It is

important to have a mix of all types of literature in the classroom. Teaching the classics helps to

improve readings on modern literature, and reading modern literature helps to engage in canon

literature. The students can begin to talk about text to text as well as inferring about the world as

a whole. Building this bridge from classics to modern texts is going to be something that my

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students will do a lot of. Modern texts have their place in classrooms, but students need to be

exposed to the literary canon as well.

Engaging students in reading is an aspect of teaching English that many teachers struggle

with. I hope to implement a variety of

assessment techniques to keep the class fresh and

interesting. Implementing different techniques

will help to keep the students from getting sucked

into a routine where they are doing the same

thing every day. Switching up the dynamics of

the classroom will also help me as a teacher

know what works with students and what does not. Students may feel up to discussing the text

as a class, whereas other days students may want to work in small groups. Everyone learns

differently and it is important to implement a multitude of different teaching techniques.

Treating the classroom like a blooming flower will help me to create different learning

environments. A flower blooms every day, yet there are variations in how the flower will bloom.

Everyday learning is going to occur, but there may be variations to how this learning occurs.

Learning what the students enjoy and do not is going to help keep them motivated and engaged

with work in the classroom.

Another aspect of keeping classroom dynamics unique requires different formative and

summative assessments. Writing an essay at the conclusion of studying a piece of literature can

become monotonous. Varying the way assessments are done will help to keep the classroom

energy level high. Working in groups to create a movie trailer, a script between characters, and

other group work will keep students wondering what is going to happen next. Of course these

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types of assessments are not going to replace written essays, but they will be a way to break the

mold of the same routine.

There are many different ways to work around written essays; it is just up to the teacher

to come up with these ideas. Teaching this way will also help me from getting bored with class.

Students are not the only people affected by the way the class is taught. Teacher’s can fall

victim of boredom if every day the class is run the same. Varying the way class is taught may

cause the teacher some extra work, but this work will pay off in the end with more engaged

students and a more engaged teacher.

Reference:

Beach, Richard, Deborah Appleman, Susan Hynds, and Jeffrey Wilhelm. Teaching Literature to

Adolescents. 2nd ed. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 2006. Print.

Teaching Writing:

People have been communicating by the way writing since the beginning of time.

Whether they were telling stories through pictures, or actual words, they were still utilizing the

tools of writing. Today it seems that writing gets a bad reputation from students as being tedious

and boring. While writing may be tedious, it certainly isn’t boring. Virtually anything can be

expressed through writing. I could write a poem about my grandmother’s funeral, and after

compiling several drafts and working my way through the writing process the end product will

be able to tell the reader a story clearly and effectively. Writing can be that gateway for students

to release emotions that may be difficult to speak. As a teacher this is important for students to

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understand. I will strive to get my students to write because they want to, not because they have

to. I think students enjoy writing and all have something to say; they just may not know it yet, or

they just may feel it isn’t the “cool” thing to do.

Along with getting students to write from the heart, I am advocate of the writing process

and hopefully my students will be able to see the benefits. Conferencing with the students will

be a must in my classrooms, maybe not every essay, but at least three times during a marking

period. Even though it takes time, peer to peer conferencing is important for the community

feeling being built in the classroom. The writing process needs to be taken seriously in order for

students to gain appreciation for writing.

Getting my students to appreciate writing may be the most important thing to me. The

idea that students want to write is what will drive me to teach them writing. Students won’t learn

anything from writing if they do not enjoy it. Although I do want my students to enjoy writing,

there are going to be times when they will not enjoy what they are writing about. This is where

certain techniques will come into play. To get disengaged students attentive and willing to write

I would talk to them about differing their style; try writing from a different perspective. I would

try to get them to think about the assignment in a different frame of mind. If they are writing

about a character in a story, I would ask them to put themselves in the character’s shoes. Try to

write as if you actually were the character. If it were a persuasive essay, I would ask the students

to try and take a different side to the argument to get some ideas about the opposing view on the

topic. This may not work for all students, but it would hopefully get them thinking a little bit

about the paper.

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To get students to appreciate writing may be the toughest part of teaching writing. It may

be impossible for some students to understand that writing has effects on society. It always has

and it will continue to do so. Part of this appreciation will derive from the writing process that

students will inevitably use.

The writing process may get a negative reaction from students, but it is something that

can be very helpful when writing a paper. The writing process gets its power from revision.

During this part of the writing process students get to see what they did well, and what they need

to work on. Reflection gained from the revision stage helps writers get better. Marisa Harford

believes that “the reflection reinforces the students’ sense of competence and accomplishment

while simultaneously helping them recognize their areas of weakness” (63). Students will be

able to see what they have accomplished and what areas of their writing need work. Having the

students keep a journal to catalogue a lower order concern and a higher order concern will allow

students to document what is working and what is not. For the teacher it may be more work to

allow a revision submission, but it something that will really benefit student writing.

Along with the positive in revision, the writing process offers structure to essay writing.

Having this template is essential for struggling writers. Without this structure many students will

fail to experience the “power of their ideas” and “never get the chance to use writing to think,

feel, and wonder” (Brannon et al. 18). This structure will allow students to write successful,

organized essays. When students do the early planning and pre-writing, the final essay will

basically write itself. This process would not be around if it did not work, and my students will

see firsthand how the writing process affects their writing.

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Students need to hear the voice of the teacher, but the teacher also needs to hear the voice

of the students; this is where conferencing comes into play. During a conference the student and

teacher are able to have a conversation about a piece of writing. The student gets the opportunity

with the teacher to ask questions without the class around to hear. Sometimes students will have

questions, but do not want to ask them because they may be embarrassed. Conferencing allows

students to teach themselves, “they come in and tell me what has gone well, what has gone

wrong, and what they intend to do about it” (Murray 68). Using conferences makes the student

see what is happening in their writing. Many times students will write something, assume it is

correct and never look at it again. Conferencing, along with revision, will “force” the writer to

look at his or her writing.

Teaching writing is something that will benefit everyone, especially the students. Being

able to write well prepares the student for the future. Whether they notice it or not, writing well

affects their entire lives. It could be the difference in one person getting into college or not.

Being able to write well also correlates with speaking. If you can write well, typically you can

speak well too. I want my students to write from the heart and not for the grade. To get the good

grade is great, but to learn something about oneself and emerge from the writing experience as

better writer is more important. If my students come out of my class better writers who know

how to use the tools of the writing process I will be a happy teacher.

References:

Brannon, Lil, Jennifer Courtney, Shana V. Woodward, Anthony E. Iannone, Lacy A. Manship,

Cynthia P. Urbanski, Jeanie Reynolds, Karen D. Hagg, Karen Mach, and Mary Kendrick.

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"The Five-Paragraph Essay and the Deficit Model of Education." English Journal 98.2

(2008): 16-21. Print.

Harford, Marisa. "Beginning with the Students: Ownership through Reflection and Goal-

Setting." English Journal 98.1 (2008): 61-65. Print.

Murray, Donald M. "The Listening Eye: Reflections on the Writing Conference." College

English 41 (1979): 13-18. Print.