By Mary Kovaleski on April 27, 2009 12:00 PM
For many of you, if you're like me, teaching writing to college students is a big reason for getting a MFA. Maybe you have a vision of yourself as the "artsy" one on campus, the prof who holds class on the quad in the spring, whose wardrobe is just a little bit funkier than her colleagues, who hosts poetry readings where her students share their oh, so creative work. OK, maybe that was just my obnoxious little vision, but either way, you're thinking teaching might be something rewarding to do with your degree, and your life.
The way Emerson has designed its teaching program, you really get a good taste for that beginner-professorial life in all its glory (and all the fun of grading papers all weekend, too). And it truly is a rewarding experience. At Emerson, selected grad students have the opportunity to teach the WR101 and WR121 classes. WR101 is called "Expository Writing"; the students expect something very boring when they walk in, but quickly find out how cool the class is. The course is designed to teach students to write personal opinion essays through the act of cultural criticism. WR121, which has the equally exciting title of "Research Writing," is a course that teaches writing through the lens of different genres, examining the craft, rhetorical situation, etc. of various texts. More on these courses later, but first, here's how you get the gig.
In your first year, you will want to take the course "Teaching First Year Composition." It doesn't matter if you take it in the fall or the spring; all interviews happen in the spring, for positions the following year. The course is an intro to the academic world of composition and rhetoric (with a lot of emphasis on developing your personal pedagogy) as well as a practical foray into the world of teaching; students make unit plans, write their syllabus, and visit classrooms to observe other comp teachers. I'll blog with more details about the course in a few days, but this is the general idea. In the spring, all interested students who have taken the course submit their application. In my year, this was pretty extensive, and included a personal teaching statement, C.V., etc. (Great prep for applying for jobs when I'm out!) The teachers for the following year are chosen at the end of the semester by a cohort of professors lead by Prof. John Trimbur. More about him later, too.
Then you do a little dance of joy when you are hired! And you're on your way to being that artsy prof with the funky outfit.
Could you detail me more into Teaching First Year Composition