Laura Austin: Teaching Philosophy

Fall 2022
I believe my goal as a teacher is to be a guide for my students on their journey
to becoming the people they want to be. As a composition instructor, I believe
the best way to serve this purpose is to help students see themselves as
writers. To accomplish this, I want to show students that they belong in my
classroom; I want them to see that they are part of a larger community of
writers; and I want them to understand the power their writing possesses to
affect change in their larger communities.

You Belong Here

My approach to helping students see that they are already writers is most
firmly grounded in feminist pedagogy as I want them to see that they have
been writers their entire life and they do not need to change or hide who they
are to be “good” writers. I want them to see that their concept of “good”
writing is likely based on arbitrary rhetorical choices made long ago by a
group of people who could not fit comfortably in today’s world. Times have
changed, the world has changed, people have changed, and “good” writing
should change too. I want my students to see that they can be who they are
and represent their view of the world without having to mutilate and distort
their voices to fit into a box that was built to serve a completely different
world view from a completely different time. At the same time, I want to give
them the tools to be able to shift their writing in order to fit into that box
when required because, realistically, there will be times they have to mask
themselves to fit into the required context.

We Are Here for You

Writing is generally seen as a solitary activity. I want my students to learn that
good writing is accomplished only through collaboration. Writing is
communication which requires at least a writer and a reader. I want students
to understand and feel comfortable with the idea that they are part of a larger
writing community and that we are all in this together. They should learn to
trust their fellow writers and to listen to their perspectives and to think
critically about how those perspectives can be used to write more completely,
effectively, and inclusively.
You Can Change the World
The written word is powerful. It can and should be used to change the world.
However, writing students must learn how to use this power ethically.
Informational, ethical, and social literacies are essential to first-year writing
courses. Writing instructors have a unique and difficult responsibility to
incorporate these literacies into their practice because not all students will
take a philosophy course, but all students will take a writing course.

Bringing It All Together

Though I rely on feminist pedagogy to color my class, I frame everything
within a pedagogy of process. Students are usually taught to focus on the
product in their early education careers. I believe this instills a fear and dislike
of writing in students because no writer is ever happy with their final product.
Being judged solely on a single product with little or no consideration given to
the process behind it and no opportunity for revision instills a lack of
confidence in one’s writing ability. I believe that composition instructors need
to un-teach students by focusing on the iterative process. Students need to
learn instead that good writing is never created in one session, that asking for
help is not cheating, and that all writers have to revise. Through the iterative
process, students can become more comfortable trying new ideas and using
their authentic voices without the fear that they will fail the course. I believe
that through a focus on process, students can learn to relax and feel more
confident in their writing abilities.
In spite of the daunting responsibility inherent in the profession, I believe
being a writing teacher is a privilege. We have a unique opportunity to get to
know our students in a way that most instructors will never experience
because writing is such a uniquely personal act. The foundations we help to
form through our work will follow our students into every classroom they
enter, every job they choose to pursue. It is not our job to tell them what to
believe, only to give them the tools and voice to share their own beliefs with
their chosen communities. I happily accept the responsibility of being a
writing teacher in hopes that I can help guide my students into the lives they
want to lead.