I spent some reflective time thinking about what I wanted my classroom to “look like” when I was drafting my syllabus. A starting off point would be my “Class Climate” section of my ENG101 syllabus:

“First and foremost we are a community of writers. Writing is a personal exercise by nature. In order for all of us to feel comfortable and safe in the classroom, I am committed to fostering an inclusive space where all students feel they and their ideas are respected. While conflict and debate is an essential part of an academic environment, that does not mean we stop treating people in a civil and gracious manner. All discussions will be approached with an open mind, and any hate speech will not be tolerated”

We, as teachers, have been asked to view our classrooms as ecosystems. I retain some of that notion by labeling my classroom first and foremost as a “community of writers”. Ecosystems can be formed or dismantled within the community, but overall I wish for a community structure to exist.

I realize that this is a slippery slope. Communities are social structures, and social structures have hierarchies. Perhaps I am not fully at liberty to erase all forms of hierarchy or authority in my class, but I do want my students to feel like that have some agency in the community. In a community there is a give and take of ideas, and I want that for my students. I want for them to feel like they can be a contributor to this idea bank.

Thinking back on classes I have been a part of, I find myself trying to pin down “what I actually learned” from a certain class–just as my students could be asking of my course. Through  my own reflection I can make a list: things I learned about the taught subject, and things I learned about life while in that designated classroom during that designated time slot. Some classes fill both lists, and others only one or the other. My goal is for students to walk away from room HU107 with at least one of those lists full.

As teachers, we can only do so much. Our lesson plans may be brilliant, and our lectures on genre engaging and witty–but once that information leaves our mouths, it is up to our students to do with it what they will. Overall I strive to set students up as best I can to respond to that information in a meaningful way to them.