As someone with the certification Women’s Studies who teaches gender studies classes, I firmly believe that one of the most important things that a teacher can do for his or her students is to empower them. By this I mean that it is important to show students that they have the capacity for learning, the knowledge to contribute to the class, and the obligation to speak up. It is for this reason that I value the mentor/mentee relationship so much. It is much more important than the professor/student relationship in that it allows for a deeper ability to grow for both participants. With this in mind, a major part of my teaching philosophy comes straight from my own mentors and colleagues/collaborators who, as a student, I learned a great deal from. As a teacher, I wish to pass this knowledge forward. Below are the five most important tenets of my teaching philosophy.  The underlying current of all of these aspects is the empowering of students with knowledge, understanding, and the ability to think for themselves.

 

1. All ideas are valid.  The most important lesson I have learned from my own mentors is that any time a student says something out loud, he or she is taking a risk and I need to respect that.  In my graduate level classes with one particular professor, I was always impressed with how he could take the most inane statements and turn them into bits of gold.  He did this by grasping hold of the gem of truth that he could see in a student’s response, small though it may be, and repeating it to the class in a way that made the speaker sound brilliant.  Then, he completed the affirmation with “Yes, I think that sounds right,” which empowered the student with confidence and made his or her peers feel comfortable speaking out, as well.

 

I have taken this strategy and applied it in all of my classes.  I try to always affirm what the students say, even when I disagree.  For example, a student once told my class that she felt Janie, in Their Eyes Were Watching God failed to find the perfect man and was therefore unsatisfied in the end of the novel.  She was able to point to some interesting passages in the text, while also ignoring others.  Now, I always tell my students that all interpretations of the literature we read are valid, and for the most part, I believe that.  But I also disagreed with the student’s assertion because I, like most people, see Janie’s journey as being fulfilled, in part, because she comes to choose herself over her last husband, Tea Cake.  I didn’t want to shoot down the student’s idea, however, or openly disagree with her and make her feel stupid or that I was asserting my privilege as the instructor.  Instead of correcting her, I saw a way to validate her statement, without having to compromise mine.  I said, “Sure, I can see that.  Maybe her quest for the perfect man has ended without success and she has learned that such a quest will ultimately leave her unsatisfied?  Maybe she’s learned that she needs to look for happiness elsewhere?”  “Yes!” my student replied, enthusiastically.  She liked the fact that I had affirmed her idea, and that I had seen in her statement something more than what she actually said.  Her peers, likewise, nodded their heads in agreement and even felt empowered to voice their own opinions about Janie’s future happiness without a husband, and used the text to back up their assertions. 

 

Students are often reluctant to speak up when they feel that their ideas might not be valid, especially when another student has already voiced a contrary position.  When I am able to take these gems from a student’s comment, and turn them into a question for the class to ponder, it helps them learn how to think more critically, themselves, and how to relate to each others’ comments, as well.  I believe there is nothing more academically and applicably rewarding than rigorous debate and high stakes discussion in the classroom.

 

Another way that I make sure students know that all ideas are valid is in their writing subjects.  I have a firm policy of not restricting their topics, especially in a standard writing class.  They can write about anything they want, even so-called “third rail” topics.  However, when a student asks me if she can write about abortion, for example, I tell her “of course,” but then I explain to her that, while she can write about anything, one major goal of her assignment is to forward the thinking on the topic.  Then I ask, “What do you think you can bring to the discussion of abortion that’s new and unique?”  Sometimes, she will have a good idea and will write a great paper.  Other times, she recognizes how difficult it will be to find something new to say, and changes her topic.

 

2. High expectations reap high rewards.  Another important mentor in my life was a professor who, in an undergraduate course, made all of her students give presentations on the texts we would read.  She made her students research peer reviewed essays about the novels and then present them to the class in teams for the entire course period.  I liked this approach, which she used in an upper level course, and use it in a less intimidating way in my lower level courses.  In my composition classroom, this amounts to having students present chapters from our textbook on occasion, or presenting key concepts, in groups, to the entire class.  In the literature classroom I steal from my professor more directly.  Each student has to find one peer-reviewed article, write a reaction to it and present both the article and their response twice during the semester.  They do not have to plan a lesson around the essay, just discuss it in the form of a 2-5 minute presentation at the beginning of the class, from their seats.  This assignment introduces them to scholarship, and helps them to be more comfortable speaking in front of the class, while also putting the power of teaching concepts to the class in their hands. 

 

In most classes I have recently begun requiring a “digital storytelling” assignment.  Students are either asked to take one of their earlier essays and turn it into a multimedia video utilizing images, video, music, voiceover and all the tools of the video trade (transitions, graphics, etc.) or tell a personal story that relates to a topic they’ve been discussing all semester.  They are also instructed to abide by all copyright laws, as their videos must appear on the Internet for the world to see.  At first I was very nervous about asking students to take on such an unfamiliar type of composition, worrying that they would only do the bare minimum to get by.

 

However, I found that my students rose to the challenge and embraced the work.  Initially, some students are intimidated by the prospect of learning a new technology and integrating themselves, by way of their voice, images, etc., into a class assignment.  But even these students end up embracing the personal nature of the assignments, and find a kind of catharsis in the ability to express themselves and their struggles in such a way.  Most students even declare this to be their favorite assignment. I have had some truly breathtaking projects come out of these courses, including having students discuss such personal issues as their own eating disorders, abuse, and experiences with mental illness.  In turning their personal stories and images into a type of art, they learn how powerful it is to share their stories and that their lives can be meaningful to others, as well. I can only point to my high expectations to account for such high enthusiasm. 

 

3. Respect is paramount.  Since many of the courses I teach do have a gender focus, it is incredibly important to me to both model and address the importance of respect for each other and others outside the classroom, as well.  In the gender-specific classes, we always begin with a discussion about what gender is, compared to sex and sexuality.  We also always discuss intersectionality and the importance of recognizing the difference in race, ethnicity, and class in the way all genders are perceived.  I also make it clear at the beginning that “gender” does not mean “female.”  It is important for us to recognize men and how gender inequality affects them, as well.  This is particularly important for the male students in the class, who can feel overwhelmed and even unqualified to discuss such topics. And throughout the class we regularly discuss these things. 

 

But, perhaps most importantly, in all of my classes, I demonstrate this kind of respect.  I have had several transgendered students who have asked me to address the class regarding pronoun usage, which I have done.  When they don’t ask me to do that, however, I just model the correct terminology for the class.  I make certain never to make inappropriate jokes, of course, but I also use such jokes told by students as teaching moments.  I never ostracize a student for an inappropriate comment and/or joke or a controversial idea.  This would only serve to make him or her feel small.  Rather, I try to use a slight variation the earlier method mentioned above.  For example, I recently had a student tell the class that she hated feminism because she likes to have a guy open the door for her and be pampered.  It would be easy to dismiss her as uneducated and uninformed, and to see myself as the one to set her straight, but I saw this as a teaching opportunity and asked her if she ever opens the door for a guy?  Of course, she had, so we, as a class, had a spirited discussion about the question of “chivalry” versus “sexism.”  In the end, she came to see that feminism didn’t mean that she had to stop allowing men to open doors for her, but that she should look critically at whether it is appropriate to treat her differently because of her gender.  Another area where these discussions come up quite a lot is with the question of essentializing women.  I often have to discuss why women aren’t “naturally” sensitive or giving or anything, really.  And this usually leads to a discussion of social construction.

 

4. Peer pressure can be a good thing.  The presentations mentioned above are just one way to play on students’ need to look good in front of their peers.  Requiring students to read each other’s full drafts to be commented on by the entire class in front of the entire class can be even more effective. Therefore, in all of my classes, we do workshops, rather than peer reviews.  All students are required to turn in full, polished drafts of their essays to a discussion board.  Then, I create a schedule by which all students read through their peers’ essays and write a response to them.  Over the course of 3-5 classes, then, we discuss the essays assigned for that day, giving both praise and constructive criticism.  Students are much more likely to try hard when they know that the entire class is going to read their essays.  And by reading other students’ essays, students come to recognize how some of their own errors look to their readers and are more likely to recognize these errors in future writing, and correct them.  All students are then allowed to revise their essays for final submission after the workshops are over.

 

We also always sit in a circle in class, especially during the workshops, to make it clear that there is no hierarchy.  All students have read the essays and all students are given expert status to respond.  While I do contribute to the criticism, I mostly serve as the facilitator and make it clear to the student being workshopped that my suggestions are just as valid as the other students.

 

5. Humor is your friend.  All of my most effective teachers have been humorous ones.  While the ability to make me laugh has not always been the main prerequisite for learning, it always helps.  That is, when a professor can make the subject matter entertaining, it always makes it easier to understand.  Therefore, I try to insert as much humor as I can into the classroom, while still maintaining an educational focus.  For instance, if we do a reading in one of my classes on rape culture, I will often show one of the Key & Peele clips that deal with a woman’s right to say “no.”  Clips from Inside Amy Schumer and Broad City are also staples of my classroom supplements.

 

So far I have found that these five strategies have helped me to create a learning environment where many students are confident, freely participate, and take a real interest in the work we are doing.  While there are always going to be those students who simply do not have an interest in their work or just want to get by, and every semester presents new and different challenges, I look to these five principals for new and interesting ideas to bring the class together, to inspire my students to take an interest, and to encourage students to own their thoughts and beliefs in confidence.  Perhaps a sixth principal would be the necessity of adapting.  Not every strategy works every time, so I have learned to keep learning, both from my mentors and my mentees.

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