Be The Light!
Lydia Meredith’s Philosophy (Theory) of Teaching
“The Love, the Light, and the Teacher in me, Honors the Love, the Light, and the Teacher in you: Namaste.” (Hindu Translation)
Namaste, a Hindu greeting, can be translated, “The Love, the Light, and the Teacher in me, Honors the Love, the Light, and the Teacher in you.” I bring myself to the classroom: my life experience, my knowledge, my life sources, and resources, and I invite my students to do the same. Thus, my first theory of teaching is reciprocity. Teacher and Students are learners; Teacher and students agree to learn from each other, and this synergy is the foundation that cultivates trust and transference of pedagogy.
My second theory of teaching (specifically teaching English at Georgia State University, being enrolled in the Rhetoric and Composition doctoral program) is “… language is rhetoric, because it desires to convey doxa [opinion] …” (Blair). According to Aristotle, “Rhetoric is the capacity (dynamis) to observe in regard to any subject the available means of persuasion. Since rhetoric can be applied to any subject, it has no subject matter of its own” (Murphy et al. 65). Likewise, language is rhetoric that applies to any subject. Since language has the power to bring clarity, vision, and agency to any topic and any situation, rhetorical composition is the greatest asset (toward achievement) we can give our students in both their academic and non-academic lives.
Finally, my third theory of teaching is the classroom is about cultivating liberty and the principles of democracy. The community of learners we become is a microcosm of society. The classroom community values diversity and respects human dignity regardless of race, gender, class, sexuality, the difference in ability, or any other God-given difference. The classroom is a safe and stimulating place to reflect, criticize, voice, and practice the principles of democracy.
My role as Teacher then is to facilitate a learning experience that is transformative in the classroom; to ensure the learning environment is safe and stimulating (in all developmental domains: cognitively, creatively, socially, and emotionally); to commit to professional development, consistently researching, studying, and incorporating (evidence-based/proven effective) theory and practice that generate positive student outcomes; to self-evaluate and also be open to external constructive criticism from staff, peers, and my students; to passionately and strategically convey content that inspires, instructs, and is protective of civic literacy, civic involvement, and democratic principles; collaboratively, construct curricula that motivate students to research, write, and think critically and share their findings in academic and non-academic settings; to stir the souls of students to be “agents of change” (Burke); and to encourage students to become productive citizens and civic contributors in the 21st century.
Distinguished educators who share similar philosophy/theory – like Paulo Freire, Kenneth Burke, bell hook, Ira Shor, and the community of rhetoricians at Georgia State University, know that writing is a social enterprise.
My thoughts on how such theory looks in a classroom setting are:
Ideal Classroom:
• Students and Teacher are learners and “agree” to learn from each other;
• Students and Teacher have the liberty to “be,” and they bring themselves (voice) to the classroom;
• Students and Teacher accept and value diversity (valuing thought, theory, critical thinking, and human dignity of other learners);
• Students write from their social positions and personal interest where their most profound reflections trigger and engender their best work;
• Students and Teacher collaboratively contribute and support course content, assessment, and evaluation;
• Students and Teacher are engaged in interactive (student and Teacher initiated) learning;
• Students and Teacher convey course content using: Diverse, multimodal activities (appealing to verbal, visual, auditory, kinesthetic, logical, solitary, and interpersonal learners); Using various group forms: individual, small group, and large group; Verbal and non-verbal reflections to share their views and opinion (applying the above learning styles and group forms); Diverse content for examination: life issues, social issues, personal issues, academic issues; and Experiential/pragmatic (inside and outside the classroom) learning opportunities.
As a teacher, critical-rhetorical thinking and composition are my primary focus. I believe mechanics are essential and creatively accomplished via recursive writing. I have discovered that the more students write and share their compositions with their peers and myself for feedback, writing becomes more rhetorically driven.
My values and theories of reciprocity, rhetoric, and respecting the diversity of voice and human personality will help me become a more impactful teacher. Students grow, develop, and mature (independently and collaboratively) as they practice reflection, critical thinking, leadership, planning, implementing, speaking, composition, and writing. My role as Teacher is servant-leader – mentoring, advising, coaching, modeling, supporting, facilitating, and instructing – to engender a democratic classroom milieu. My life’s goal (of being an impactful teacher for social transformation) happens as students move the mind, heart, and condition of humankind practicing rhetoric. When this happens, the rhetorical composition becomes a masterpiece that gives birth to world peace.
Works Cited
Berthoff, Ann E. “Paulo Freire’s Liberation Pedagogy.” Language Arts, vol. 67, no. 4, l, Apr. 1990, www.jstor.org/stable/41961745. Accessed 10 Oct. 2019.
Blair, Carole. “Foundational and Anti-Foundationalism.” Academic Discourse and Critical Consciousness. Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh UP, 1992.
Burke, Kenneth. “Rhetoric: Its Function and Scope.” The Province of Rhetoric. Ed. Joseph Schwartz and John A. Rycenga 1965. Reprinted from QJS Dec. 1953.
Murphy, J. J., Katula, R. A., & Hoppmann, M. (2014). A Synoptic History of Classical Rhetoric (4th ed.). London: Routledge.
Shor, Ira. Empowering Education: Critical Teaching for Social Change. U of Chicago P, 2012.