On some days, school is bloody fulfilling*.
And that mostly has to do with being in a Rhetoric and Composition session where my mentor is a fantastic, enthusiastic human being, full of contagious passion for his work. Our discussion over the last couple of weeks in that class has made me think about the way "gut feelings" work in my own teaching and in my students' work, about my body in the teaching space and today, about teaching Freshman Composition as a (somewhat) non-native speaker of the language.
Like several of my friends, I grew up speaking English both at home and outside**. I do speak a couple of other languages, but it is English to which I turn for ease of expression. I read mostly in English. I think and dream in English. I can't write essays, or poems (however terrible), or make involved arguments in the other languages I know and speak. But, I also often turn to these languages for words where my English comes up short. In other words, I'm not the subject at the heart of ESL language acquisition and usage discussions.
And yet, sometimes, in my composition classroom, I become hyper-aware of the chasm between my experience with language and writing and that of my students. In the last three years, I've had a few international students, ESL speakers or (students like me)*** And each time that I feel like I understand their challenges with a particular piece of writing, I go back to the question of my own identity as a (non-native speaking) teacher of comp.
Uh... just so we're clear, I'm not suggesting that my students actively do something to create this effect. I just find it fascinating that being able to empathize with my international students' questions and challenges brings up all these questions for me.
And there really isn't all that much on Comp-Teachers-Like-Me out there - another thing I want to add to my Jack of All Trades basket.
*And no, I don't quite mean Viking invasion
**Yes, privilege, privilege.
***There has to be a word for this - why do I not know it?
And that mostly has to do with being in a Rhetoric and Composition session where my mentor is a fantastic, enthusiastic human being, full of contagious passion for his work. Our discussion over the last couple of weeks in that class has made me think about the way "gut feelings" work in my own teaching and in my students' work, about my body in the teaching space and today, about teaching Freshman Composition as a (somewhat) non-native speaker of the language.
Like several of my friends, I grew up speaking English both at home and outside**. I do speak a couple of other languages, but it is English to which I turn for ease of expression. I read mostly in English. I think and dream in English. I can't write essays, or poems (however terrible), or make involved arguments in the other languages I know and speak. But, I also often turn to these languages for words where my English comes up short. In other words, I'm not the subject at the heart of ESL language acquisition and usage discussions.
And yet, sometimes, in my composition classroom, I become hyper-aware of the chasm between my experience with language and writing and that of my students. In the last three years, I've had a few international students, ESL speakers or (students like me)*** And each time that I feel like I understand their challenges with a particular piece of writing, I go back to the question of my own identity as a (non-native speaking) teacher of comp.
Uh... just so we're clear, I'm not suggesting that my students actively do something to create this effect. I just find it fascinating that being able to empathize with my international students' questions and challenges brings up all these questions for me.
And there really isn't all that much on Comp-Teachers-Like-Me out there - another thing I want to add to my Jack of All Trades basket.
*And no, I don't quite mean Viking invasion
**Yes, privilege, privilege.
***There has to be a word for this - why do I not know it?
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