In the pursuit of this belief, I have a responsibility to recognize and call to the fore the individual, unmistakable voice in each student, that element which seems so often silenced through neglect, yet without which no truly dynamic writing can occur. Somewhere along the way, the sense of play has vanished from the scene, with it all excitement in the writer, and thus too often all interest in the writing. There is no good reason for this. In fact, there is every reason it should not be so. The challenge, then, is to foster change, and at the same time introduce and facilitate the pursuit of fluency in the academic argumentative mode. These are not mutually exclusive goals. The truth is, they compliment each other. Experience has shown me that the roots can take hold, though success can be hard to measure beyond the products of a mind over one, maybe two, semesters. This fundamental allegiance translates in practice to a certain simplicity of design. I expect of my students what I expect of myself. I tell them so. We owe each other honesty, diligence, and a respect stemming from our common humanity and our common cause. In the classroom, I balance lecture always with practice. I work to incorporate all technologies that I’ve found useful. I strive to listen as much as I talk. I encourage an ease structured ultimately to stay on task. I find and preserve that crucial balance between relaxed affability and determined authority. After eight years, I’m pretty good at all this on good days, mediocre, I’d guess, on bad ones, and dedicated throughout to getting better. I try above all to do what I can to help students along. It’s the how I’m here for in the end, I think. It’s easy of course to throw around the catchphrase process. I’ve done so myself, and watched it deflate to nothing. I handle the term more carefully now, because, in fact, it lies at the heart of my methodology, and so deserves to be used purposely and with pointed meaning. The process of writing is real and complex beyond pat explanation. I respect it in theory, but more importantly honor it in practice as it presents itself in the course of a semester. So it’s on the individual, and the opportunity to work with each, that I place my bets. This for me is the very essence of the work, the source of greatest disappointment perhaps, but also greatest reward. In discussion, conference in or out of class, direct exchange on the job at hand, the writing unfolding before us, in this I find what I most love about teaching. A human being, a voice, resides in the words. Something is being created. I might not know what it is. Never mind. Whenever I’m invited, I step carefully and happily into that world. Christof Scheele |  | | | __________________________________ |
My approach to the teaching of composition is predicated on the notion that writing is not inherently boring, and in fact can be fun, an exercise not only in critical thinking, but in creativity and self-expression. I try to model this attitude in the classroom and in my teaching materials by introducing the concept early in the semester to the group as a whole, presenting textual examples and advocating freedom of discussion, then reminding each student individually through encouragement in the planning stages of written work and commentary on successive drafts.
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