To My Class: A Letter From a First Time Composition Teacher

Dear Students,

The university provides all of its instructors with clearly defined, specific goals relating to the skills you should possess by the time you leave this class. However, I have some personal goals for my teaching and for each of you. Here they are.

I want you to leave this class understanding that it is not your professor’s job to tell you what to think. It is your professor’s job to help you learn how to think. I am here to ask questions, not simply to relate facts. Make no mistake; there are indisputable facts in this world, and those are essential pieces of knowledge. In this world in which we live, though, determining what is fact and what is bullshit is an essential skill. Think critically. Question what you read, what you see, and what you hear. My goal for you is not to regurgitate facts or correctly darken the ovals on a scantron form. My goal for you is to ask good questions and figure out good solutions.

Many of you came into this class disliking writing because your previous experiences with writing had focused heavily on spelling, grammar, and punctuation. I told you on the first day of class and I will tell you again that those things — spelling, grammar, and punctuation — are useful in that they are tools that serve to make your writing clearer and easier to understand. However, they are ONLY that: tools. They are not the endgame of writing. The purpose of writing is to communicate. Every one of you has something important to say, and I want you to say it. Say it without reservation. Say it without fear. Say it without worrying about whether the comma is in the right place. You all have a voice and a message. Use them.

There are two pieces of writing advice that I’d like you to take with you. The first is to be specific. Most writing suffers from vague generalities and lack of true meaning. Be specific. When you think you have been as specific as you possibly can, be more specific. The second is to seek clarity. Don’t write to impress; write to communicate. Use language that you understand to communicate an idea that you understand in a manner that other people can easily understand.

I was disheartened to learn that many of you feel as though your high school teachers didn’t care about you. The single most important thing that I want you to take from this class is that I care about you (and I truly believe that the majority of your professors do, too). I see you. I understand that you are adults, people with full and complex lives. You have jobs and families and responsibilities apart from this class. I want you to feel as though you have been valued for your innate talents and contributions and treated with respect. I drive to campus and spend an hour with you each day because I care about you.

I have learned so much from you in just 16 weeks. I’ve learned that I judge others too quickly and too harshly. I’ve learned that you all have a story. I’ve learned that, more than anything, what you need is someone to believe that you are capable of doing this.

Thank you for opening up to me and helping me learn what kind of teacher I want to be.