Heather Anne Trahan Teaching Philosophy Creating A Community

Heather Anne Trahan Teaching Philosophy ~Creating a Community~ For a few minutes before every class meeting, I take
the time to center myself, and silently repeat the question: I wonder what Ill learn from my students today? In asking this, I remind myself that education is never handed down, from on high, from me to them. Rather, we co-create a learning experience together. Learning is always reciprocal and it is always in motion. My teaching philosophies are inspired by many radical teachers who came before me, who set down a path and guided me to a place of wonder, curiosity, patience, humility, compassion, and a willingness to engage (and not gloss over or rush past) the tension-filled moments. For it is within tensionas well paradox and mysterythat holds the real root of learning. When human beings are faced with ideas that do not align, or that confuse, or that mystify, that is when the questions beginand it is through the asking of questions (not necessarily in the answering of them) that we learn. When I walk into the classroom, I feel exhilarated by continuing in the tradition of: Paulo Freire, with his challenging map for creating dialogue; bell hooks, with her surprising ideas about love; and, Parker Palmer, with his theory of education as a practice for freedom. These three pedagogues in particular have helped me to understand writing as a tool that has the capacity to bring about systemic societal change. These teachers have helped me see that these ideasdialogue, love, freedomare not just silly clichs. Rather, dialogue, love, and freedom are the basis of any educational course, curricula, or institution that aims to light the fires of wisdom. What I desire for writing students is to compose as a method for not only critiquing what social norms dictate that they should be and should do but, also, I desire them to use composing as a way for them to actively create alternative social models. In other words, I dont just want students to stay stuck in critique. I dont want them just to be able to, for example, perceive heteronormativity. I want my students to travel beyond that, and create thought-models for other ways of being that cultivate values of diversity, wonder, compassion, and empathy. Through undertaking the process of engaged ethical writing, some students leave my classroom able to communicate with others, make decisions, and take action no longer merely by default. Language is used for intentionality. Through a more fluent utilization of discourse, empowered learners discover and often invent new paths for themselves as well as define new forms of success. My writing courses are often composed of three main forms of activity: small discussion groups, student-lead whole class discussions, and silent writing time. I do not see myself as The One Who Lectures. The word educate comes from the Latin educere, meaning to draw out. This etymology informs my role as a Co-Learner who draws out questions and insights from an often incoherent, unexamined internal voice into a more coherent, reflective external voice onto the page. I have no desire to impose any truths or facts on students from the outside; rather, I create a loving space conducive to students being able to reach within themselves, assisting them in drawing out what it is they understand and can do, each based on their own subjective histories. Something I do daily in the classroom is to provide rationale whenever I ask my students to do something. I am not The Boss. I am, instead, The Explainer who explains the connections, reasons, and motives behind even seemingly small requests. For example, if I ask my students to
bring a particular textbook to class every Friday, I let them know why having that particular textbook will potentially enhance the group dialogues we will be having. Another aspect thats crucial to my ethos as a teacher is, whenever possible, I will do what my students are doing while they are doing it. So, if I ask them to take ten minutes of class time to write a short reflection on the homework reading that was assigned for the day, then I will write, too, alongside them. My pen will move as their pens move. My laptop will be open as their laptops are open. Then, when its time to share writing, I will present my own work to them, no matter if my thoughts on the page turned out messy or not. This ethic of both providing rationale and doing what I ask them to do is my way of communicating the message: We are a community; we are in this together. My courses are truly student-centered and student-directed, with a spirit of as much egalitarianism as is possible while abiding by the particular institution and the particular departments goals within which I work. In the writing courses I facilitate, students have a great deal of responsibility. Students have open access to my guidance when they request it, but I also make sure to provide the needed intellectual, emotional, and spiritual space to question, wonder, risk, and even resist. Thus, the classroom becomes a place not only for skills acquisition but also for movement and transformation, with that transformation being, ultimately, the responsibility of each student.

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Heather Anne Trahan Teaching Philosophy ~Creating a Community~ For a few minutes before every class meeting, I take

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