I can imagine the most powerful impact of teaching first-year writing being inciting a curiosity and drive related to reading and writing; one that is both connected to one’s own voice and self-discovery as well as rising from the work of other authors. This would mean creating a classroom for students that supports an increased awareness of the world and of themselves in relation to the world; as Freire says, “that reality is really a process, undergoing constant transformation” (75).

Taken to its most idealistic extent, a class like this would support “authentic liberation … Liberation is a praxis: the action and reflection of men and women upon their world in order to transform it” (79).

In other words, in the most ideal sense, the impact of the class would be that students identify as change-makers. Embedded within this, would be identifying as writers, having understood the “transforming power” of words (71).

When Freire states that “problem-posing education affirms men and women as beings in the process of becoming” he is discussing the inherent agency of people. The most powerful impact a first-year writing class could have on any given student is emboldening this sense of agency.

In reflecting on what is ideal, I am still pondering how this sense of agency is cultivated within the contradictions of a college classroom setup in terms of the power dynamic of teacher and student and the set curriculum to get through. Agency for students could also mean the agency to not engage and not trust the curriculum or me. If the goal is liberatory education –  to become aware of the system to transform it, it seems as though we are still working within certain confines – the fact that the student will get a grade and presumably needs to pass the class is not a set up for transforming the system they are in, but rather still adhering to the paths of inquiry I am setting forth. Perhaps one must take on a long-term view, trusting that cultivating awareness and drive will support system transformation farther down the line. Or perhaps I need to go in to the classroom willing to be transformed myself by welcoming the creativity and knowledge of my students. This would mean the most ideal impact of teaching my first-year writing class would be transformation of myself AND my students or as Freire puts it “create together … the conditions” in which we all grow.