One Last Entry

I've been thinking about my interests lately, both in academia and out. My literary interests range from historical fiction to fantasy to apologetics to... well, you get the picture. I also consider myself a huge movie buff, particularly classic films starring such greats as Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, Gary Cooper, and so on. Art fascinates me, not least because of my own humble contributions. Music drives my soul; I love to immerse myself in history; I even find certain aspects of science fascinating (so long as I don't have to regurgitate the information later on). My point? My philosophy in life's interests is simply to get the most I can out of learning and trying to understand people in the world. People, too, fascinate me; perhaps this is why I was, for a short time, a psychology major.

With such an eclectic range of interests, I find that I want to try to instill that sort of desire in my students. I try to show genuine interest in that which fascinates them, and I hope to convey my own eclectic tastes in such a way as to pique their interests into something new. Why? Well, because I'm teaching English 110, a composition class for students across the board, I feel that this class is foundational in helping to shape the ways in which they'll approach the next three (to four or more) years of their college careers. When I look back at how much I learned through my liberal arts education, and how much that variety has enriched my understanding of life and my own chosen field, I realize that these students are embarking on a similar journey. Will they embrace it or choose to remain narrowly focused on their majors and childhood interests? After all, how many of my friends from high school have chosen that latter path and have missed out on so much?

Personally, I think we've all got an amazing opportunity encourage a passion for learning and understanding in our students. By our urging them to examine all viewpoints on an issue, they learn compassion (I hope). By our encouraging them to provide evidence and to show rather than tell, we are giving them tools to make their own thoughts and beliefs known in such a way as to create dialogue.

I'm astounded as I watch my students develop as writers throughout this one short semester. At the end of the fall semester, I had students express their thanks for showing them what a joy writing can be; some who had never written anything of their own free will now keep journals and write regularly. That reminds me of another tool we teach our students to use: writing as therapy! Again, at the end of the semester, several students expressed the realization that, while the journals tended to get tedious at times, they were able to work through emotional and psychological difficulties through being able to express themselves freely.

There may be those out there who think our careers as writing teachers seems of mediocre importance, but I know otherwise.

Happy summer, everyone!