Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Writing Class Philosophies

I'm teaching writing this fall at Olivet Nazarene University.  Here are the basic philosophies I'll be working with.


  1. Writing is a critical form of self-expression.
  2. Writing is critical for self-knowledge.
  3. Writing is meant to be read.  Therefore, we will often share our writings in small groups and with the class.
  4. The world needs your voice.  We all have a voice.  We come from different places, different backgrounds, and different schools.  That diversity increases the importance of individual voices.
  5. We can all grow as writers.  We all have different strengths and weaknesses.  But we can all improve our skill as writers.  
  6. Writing flourishes in an environment of acceptance, encouragement, and challenge.
  7. Learning is fun, and fun facilitates learning.
  8. Learning is hard work.
  9. Writing grows through practice.  We’ll spend a lot of time in class practicing our writing.  This is not busy work.  This is practice to improve our skill at writing.
  10. Writing is increasingly important in our world.  Contrary to popular opinion, social media makes writing MORE important not less important.  Emails, tweets, posts, and blogs are increasingly common.
Help me out.  Share your thoughts and feedback on this before class starts.

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