As the weeks have progressed through this class I have opened my eyes to how complicated and rewarding teaching writing can be, and I have to say thank you to all the professors whose classes I have taken during my time in college. Thank you for your persistence, understanding, and professionalism. You have influenced me as a person and writer.
The reading assignment for this week covered a lot of important information that any writing teacher needs in order to teach effectively. There was too much material to discuss in its entirety in this post, but there were two points that stuck with me, after I finished reading. The most important, I think, was the realization that what my professors have done in class was not just to create grading opportunities for my transcript. The material I have read, countless talking points I have turned in, and end of the semester portfolios were strategically placed tools to teach me what I need to know from the class.
Sometime during the fall semester of 2008, I realized that I had grown as a writer based on the knowledge I had gleaned from classes since declaring a writing major. I also realized that if I wanted to continue to grow, I had to take responsibility for that growth outside of class as well as in class. Looking back on the classes I took over the past two years, I realized through this reading that these same tools my professors have used to instruct and evaluate my writing, is what I must continue to do after I graduate in the Spring, if I am going to continue to grow as a writer.
The other point that really hit home for me was that there are different types of students. I have set in classes with the student who is resistant to learning. There have been several times that I wanted to remind these peers of mine, that they are in an undergraduate program and therefore know nothing compared to the professors. I have also set in classes with peers whose skill level is above mine and peers whose skill level is below mine. I hope I have never acted superior and all knowing as I have seen some of my peers act.
The examples of how to handle these students are good. I know now that some of my professors have actually used them in classes, quite successfully, but much of the journey writers go on to grow is done on an individual basis. Yes, we watch each other, in some ways emulate one another, and without us knowing are in turn emulated, but we still have to take responsibility for our own growth. I think that the resistant students have not quite figured this out and until they do, they will stay on the same level as a writer, never gaining ground on their development and reaching their potential.
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