In
2002 I began working as a Graduate Teaching Assistant at Wayne State
University after receiving a two fellowships, one of which required me
to take on the complete responsibilities of teaching college level
writing and literature courses. Although initially
disappointed
by the available textbooks I encountered that year, I discovered that
providing students with supplemental texts and historical
knowledge enhanced the adopted reading material, while also
allowing me to maintain my integrity as an educator who
understands the writing classroom as a place in which social history
and culture can not only be taught (rather than regulated), but also be
an environment that serves as a live forum in
which young
people can get to know, and come to respect, the
history(s)
and cultures of others. I believe that in creating this kind
of learning environment is the most important step in
fulfilling higher education's commitment to
diversity,
thereby encouraging new friendships among those who participate.
Teaching
culture and history in the
college level writing and literature classrooms are important, but it
is also imperative that educators get it right. By teaching
students that beyond cultural and racial differences people
are actually more the same than they are different, I believe
that
intolerance can be stamped
out, thereby, creating a self-rejuvenating social and
diverse learning environment that spreads outside of the classroom and
into the larger society. The
college classroom should aspire to be
a place where anyone has not only the opportunity to learn, but also a
place where each participant has the freedom to express who they are,
have been, and desire to be, which is why the courses I facilitate
provide an opportunity for students to share,
witness,
report, and most
importantly, use what they have learned throughout their
lives.
It is in
this small way that I try help to change the future of a nation
by contributing to America's move away from its past
of
hatred that haunts it so distinctly and toward a nation of true
equality in all things.
ENC1101: Introduction to College Writing / Fall 2007
ENC1101: Introduction to College Writing / Winter 2008
ENC1102: Composition II / Winter 2008AML2010: American Literature to 1865 w/Coursepack / Fall 2007
AML2020: American Literature after 1865 / Winter 2008
AML2600: African American Literature Survey / Spring 2008
LIT2190: Introduction to Afro-Caribbean Literature / Spring 2008
Camden County College 2006-2007English
101-08: Composition I
English
101-D01: Composition I
English 1020: Introduction to College Writing
English 3010: Intermediate Writing
English 2390: African American Literature Survey
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