Beyond teaching the fundamental skills that are required for each course, as an educator I have several goals for myself. I want to foster critical thinking, reading, and writing. I want to give my students a sense of confidence in their writing. And lastly, I want to teach students the power of a well-conceived, well-written argument.
In my experience, many students come into a composition course expecting to write but not anticipating the emphasis on critical thinking or the importance of a logical argument. As a result, it seems that student essays have become as devoid of creativity and originality as a multiple-choice test. For this reason, it is my belief that the instructor must engage his/her students in discourse that is both interesting and thought-provoking.
Every student has an opinion, every student has a voice. When students learn to read more critically they are able to make informed decisions about things that matter and when they learn to craft a written argument they are able to better voice their own informed opinion. Ultimately this is the goal. 

Karin Wraley Barbee
kwraley@bgnet.bgsu.edu

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