Finishing up Teaching Philosophy today, and about to write second one, I feel I'm lost in the world of philosophy. Actually these questions are what I've been wondering about at times through this semester. What does philosophy of composition have to do with teaching philosophy? How does that integrate into the same category? What I found interesting is it really does integrate sometimes, and I think the reason is because of the particular characteristic of composition that requires teachers to be "teacher" teacher.
I don't doubt probably someone who reads the phrase "teacher" teacher might nod. Teaching writing is definitely different from teaching literature or chemistry. There's nothing to memorize or understand content-wise. It's just a matter of what you think and what you want to talk. What you have in mind becomes your content, the topic, and everything. There would be no one who would scold you since you did not include in your writing this formula or that historical background. That's why how to teach really matters in composition, and maybe that's why we can't ever get the right answer to this question: what is a good writer?
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
When teachers meet students...
I still vividly remember the first day of the grad school this semester. It was my linguistics class, Principles of Language by Dr. Min-joo Kim. I was tired before I entered the classroom, and I was excited when I got out of the classroom. I was full of energy, joy, excitement, and delightment.
This very first class relieved all the concerns and worries about my academic choice, and since that Monday, Dr. Kim has been my role model, wanna-be, and great teacher.
The reason why I found her lecture so impressing and touching was not what she taught us that day. We did not learn much of the contents that we were supposed to cover since most of us didn't have textbook with us. Also, as the course name might imply, what she talked about was just basic ideas of what Linguistics is and its subclasses. What made me so big fan of her class was her sincerity. She told us
"I don't think all of you are my students. I think of you as my collegues because everytime I teach, I learn something new while working with every one of you. It's not because you are graduate students. It's the same as I meet undergraduate courses. It's so amazing that I discover something new from our class. So, that's my pleasure, and I am grateful that I can have you in my class."
It was just surprising to see her attitude to her students, with attachment, respect, and reponsibility. And I wondered whether I could have that kind of mindset when I get to teach my students next year, or even if it is really true that you can learn from your students. Spending over a decade of academic career, who would really be able to think they learn from students? Some people might not get that. After all, the fact is that they know more than us.
But I figure what Dr. Kim meant by that she could learn from her students was "sincerity.": Pure, passsionate, and sincere pursuit of academy. There's nowhere that we can learn this sincerity but from students. It's not on the textbook, or it's not on the tons of articles that we read every single day. No one teaches what kind of mindset we should have in teaching. The answer is right there with us, with your students.
This very first class relieved all the concerns and worries about my academic choice, and since that Monday, Dr. Kim has been my role model, wanna-be, and great teacher.
The reason why I found her lecture so impressing and touching was not what she taught us that day. We did not learn much of the contents that we were supposed to cover since most of us didn't have textbook with us. Also, as the course name might imply, what she talked about was just basic ideas of what Linguistics is and its subclasses. What made me so big fan of her class was her sincerity. She told us
"I don't think all of you are my students. I think of you as my collegues because everytime I teach, I learn something new while working with every one of you. It's not because you are graduate students. It's the same as I meet undergraduate courses. It's so amazing that I discover something new from our class. So, that's my pleasure, and I am grateful that I can have you in my class."
It was just surprising to see her attitude to her students, with attachment, respect, and reponsibility. And I wondered whether I could have that kind of mindset when I get to teach my students next year, or even if it is really true that you can learn from your students. Spending over a decade of academic career, who would really be able to think they learn from students? Some people might not get that. After all, the fact is that they know more than us.
But I figure what Dr. Kim meant by that she could learn from her students was "sincerity.": Pure, passsionate, and sincere pursuit of academy. There's nowhere that we can learn this sincerity but from students. It's not on the textbook, or it's not on the tons of articles that we read every single day. No one teaches what kind of mindset we should have in teaching. The answer is right there with us, with your students.
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