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.

100 Things I Love About Korea # 55: Replay - Cursing at my Class

This is a repost from May 1, 2008.  I no longer teach English, but this is one of the best stories from my time in the "trenches."

This week one of my text books, which heavily emphasizes vocabulary and listening, had two very similar words: canyon and canon.
I noticed in my first class that the students kind of giggled when I was explaining the difference between these two words.  But that's somewhat common, so I didn't think much of it.
In my second class, for some reason, I really emphasized the difference, and I said "CAN-YON" again and again with very deliberate pronunciation.  Before I knew it, the whole class was saying "canyon" and giggling to their neighbors.  Some were just laughing outright.  I realized that I must have said something funny.  I asked what they were laughing about, but nobody was willing or able to tell me.  Finally, one of the students said that it was an easy word to pronounce and that I didn't have to keep going over it.  I just thought I had drifted off into teacher LA-LA Land, where I was droning on and on about something not so important.  (This is actually easy to do since I teach the same exact class 5 times.)
In my third class, when I got to canyon and canon again (without the heavy emphasis this time), everyone started laughing again.  Finally, the light went on for me.  I asked, "Is 'canyon' a bad word in Korean?"   Several people nodded yes.  I asked, "What does it mean?"  No answer.  I just went on with the rest of the material and finished the class.
After class, I asked one of the girls who seemed to be a good student what "canyon" means in Korean.  She seemed pretty uncomfortable.  Finally, she said that there isn't an exact translation, but it is kind of like "F--- YOU!"
I just laughed and said, "Oh, OK.  Thanks."
As I was walking back to my office, I realized that I had been saying again and again, loudly and with clear pronunciation: "F--- YOU!  F--- YOU!  F--- YOU!  F--- YOU!"
OOPS!!
Ahh - the hazards of teaching cross-culturally!

Also this gives a whole new meaning to America's greatest national park: "The Grand Canyon"!

Cursing at my Class

This week one of my text books, which heavily emphasizes vocabulary and listening, had two very similar words: canyon and canon.
I noticed in my first class that the students kind of giggled when I was explaining the difference between these two words. But that's somewhat common, so I didn't think much of it.
In my second class, for some reason, I really emphasized the difference, and I said "CAN-YON" again and again with very deliberate pronunciation. Before I knew it, the whole class was saying "canyon" and giggling to their neighbors. Some were just laughing outright. I realized that I must have said something funny. I asked what they were laughing about, but nobody was willing or able to tell me. Finally, one of the students said that it was an easy word to pronounce and that I didn't have to keep going over it. I just thought I had drifted off into teacher LA-LA Land, where I was droning on and on about something not so important. (This is actually easy to do since I teach the same exact class 5 times.)
In my third class, when I got to canyon and canon again (without the heavy emphasis this time), everyone started laughing again. Finally, the light went on for me. I asked, "Is 'canyon' a bad word in Korean?" Several people nodded yes. I asked, "What does it mean?" No answer. I just went on with the rest of the material and finished the class.
After class, I asked one of the girls who seemed to be a good student what "canyon" means in Korean. She seemed pretty uncomfortable. Finally, she said that there isn't an exact translation, but it is kind of like "F--- YOU!"
I just laughed and said, "Oh, OK. Thanks."
As I was walking back to my office, I realized that I had been saying again and again, loudly and with clear pronunciation: "F--- YOU! F--- YOU! F--- YOU! F--- YOU!"
OOPS!!
Ahh - the hazards of teaching cross-culturally!

Also this gives a whole new meaning to America's greatest national park: "The Grand Canyon"!