"An idea that is not dangerous is unworthy of being called an idea at all."
-Oscar Wilde
First Lady Elanor Roosevelt once said, "One's philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes..." While it is not my wish to go against the sage of Madam Roosevelt, I feel that being able to coherently write out one's own thoughts and opinions is an ability that ensures the actual awareness of one's own thoughts and opinions. So without any further introduction, I present my teaching philosophy as it pertains to the teaching of English.
Already I am guilty of the fatal sin of misnomer. To call what I and others like me do in English classrooms across the country 'Teaching' is a grave misstep, for it is more closely akin to 'Moderation' or 'Exploration'. The use of the term 'Teaching' for the study of the English language and its literature implies that I as an educator am imparting knowledge onto my students as opposed to guiding them through the process of examination, analysis, interpretation, and understanding. While there are certain facts and techniques I carefully explain and therefore teach to my students, the majority of the work that takes place in a properly structured English classroom takes place within the minds of the students as they navigate through the written words of notable authors or through their own thoughts and interpretations.
With reading, it is my duty to engage students in their interactions with the text. Instead of standing and dictating the author's words to their listening ears, I help them consider differing perspectives, or ask questions that bring up previously unseen details. Depending on the assignment and the intent of the study, readers will have to decode what an author is attempting to communicate through a text, or will have to understand how they themselves relate to what is being told on the page. As a teacher, it is not possible for me to simply write these things onto a whiteboard, which is why it is my job to assist my students through the process of personal understanding.
Writing is a similar beast when presented in the classroom. Again, I as a teacher cannot teach the students their own interpretations or thoughts, and I certainly cannot write their assignments for them. What I can do is help them come to a coherent place in their mental formulations and assist them with the process of expression through the written word. As previously mentioned, there are technical bits and pieces of the writing process that I naturally have to teach to my students, but for the most part, it is them who do the real work. I merely serve as a resource or an assistant, and with any luck, we all end up together and in one piece.
As I'm sure you have gathered from my idealistic view of education, an English teacher works best when they are not teaching. Instead, they work alongside their students in the reading and writing processes, thereby helping them acquire and polish skills that will be used both in other classrooms and in the world outside the public school. Like all things, this philosophy is destined to change and develop over time, but based on my current classroom experiences and pedagogical research, the aforementioned theories make up my present teaching philosophy.
-Alex Stacy
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