The lyf so short, the craft so long to lerne. – Geoffrey Chaucer
My favorite teacher in elementary school was Mrs. Mraz. She was tough. She taught math and was a strictly by the numbers type of woman. Her untiring commitment to every student and her refusal to move the goal line instilled in me a humble work ethic and hunger for mastery.
My favorite high school teacher was Mrs. Kubus. She ran the advanced learning classes, which included everything from song lyric analysis to mock vacation planning. Nothing was beyond the limits of the classroom.
My favorite graduate professor was Dr. O’Malley. I watched him jump onto his chair with excitement when a student would say, “just what [he] was thinking!” We were never an afterthought. We were partners in a search for knowledge.
I remember these teachers because I, in some way, wanted to be them. They helped to shape both my commitment to education and my evolving teaching style. I’m persistent, open minded, and believe my students have just as much to give as receive. I also understand that my style, as expressed in my assignments, classroom manner, rapport with parents, and community involvement, will influence my students as they continue to develop their individual interests, perspectives, and ethics. I strive to adapt to working with different personalities while considering how I can model effective leadership that will sustain and inspire them.
An ideal learning environment is one in which students and teachers feel safe, included, and accountable to themselves and the community. Such an environment can be fostered institutionally, but it also can be recreated every day in the classroom through discussions and activities that prioritize the importance of a singular communal objective, the accessibility and sharing of resources, interest and investment from student guardians, and individual progress toward mastery.
With these priorities in mind, I often design my classes around opportunities for students to take ownership of knowledge in ways that naturally allow for further abstract and practical applications. My classes, while motivated by a commitment to a singular theme, question, or skill set, ask for varying levels of student creativity and cooperation. My AP Art History students, for example, consistently share in the presentation of material to their peers. Beyond the practical research, writing, and presentational skills that such tasks develop, students also learned how to correlate and communicate new information and ideas in a way that would be both relevant for the class and accessible to their peers. This has culminated in a robust shared resource folder to which the students regularly contribute new content and helpful tips.
My favorite classes and projects involve mixed media, trans-historical and trans-cultural narratives, personal and ethical investment, and unexpected applications of critical thinking.
I find that these types of individualized assignments are generally more successful as they give students the confidence and perspective necessary to envision their interests and special “expertise” within a constellation of the class’s larger questions, themes, and objectives. This makes for more complex and textured projects, full of possibility.
My favorite classes and projects involve mixed media, trans-historical and trans-cultural narratives, personal and ethical investment, and unexpected applications of critical thinking. I encourage students to work across formal and disciplinary boundaries (possibly because of my own research in aesthetics, medieval theology, and horror movies), a challenge reflected in student projects that have included the writing of a fictional short story based on archival research of a mid-twentieth century psychiatric facility, a podcast about the NYC student theater scene, and a paper about Ridley Scott’s Alien (1979) through the lens of medieval gynecological texts. I am grateful to my students for allowing me to feature some of their fantastic work in my teaching portfolio.
I like when students improvise, and I value their opinions about their education. I also expect them to display commitment to intellectual growth, respect, and rigorous academic focus through challenging (re)reading and (re)writing assignments. I understand that the distractions of young adulthood are real, multiple, and sometimes awful. For students who display concerning behavior, frequent absences / slipping participation, or challenging personalities, I make it a point, first and foremost, to let them know that they deserve to be taken seriously.
I took this approach with a very bright student who would regularly arrive late to class with no book and a vague sense of the material and, yet, attempt to monopolize discussion. Instead of ignoring or dismissing these comments, which were often deliberately provocative and disruptive, I began to ask the student for an increasingly detailed and rational explanation of their point. When it became clear that I wasn’t going to lower my expectations for a form of non critical, dishonest participation (no matter how absurd) the student began to come prepared to class and became more confident and eager to share in thoughtful and engaging discussions, knowing it was okay to care and listen.
In each of my courses, I focus on five “language skills,” regularly addressing topics in grammar, vocabulary and etymology, close reading, citation, and composition. My students leave the classroom with improved verbal and written communication skills, understanding of the elements of literary style, an appetite for knowledge, and confidence moving forward with their education.
Gina A. Dominick, PhD 