A Community of Writers

Time to talk students. I've been meaning to blog about this for a while, but life kinda got in the way! Which brings me to my thoughts on/about my students. I love my students. They are amazing people. They have careers, families, bills, inconveniences, tragedies, and more. I can completely identify with them, and them with me. I tell them about myself and the fact that I'm over-extended too. I find that this helps to set the stage in an online class...my students tend to be more open to share, peer review, admit ignorance, ask for help, ask for clarification AND they help eachother which is paramount in an online environment. All in all, we are a community of learners. I find that in English this is instrumental...writing is a very personal experience, yet to become a good writer it's essential to involve a community of learners. That perspective was validated yesterday while talking on the phone with one of my students....this student mentioned that they would wait for another particular student to post assignments so they could get an idea or an example of how to proceed. In all of their assignments they see a lot of examples, but it's amazing how much more powerful it is for them to see examples from someone they "know".

There are so many reasons why I continue to over-extend myself by teaching each semester, but the one reason confirmed semester after semester is that I love my students. They are amazing. As funny as it sounds, I feel a sense of pride sharing their work, writing, and anecdotal stories. Sure it's discouraging to start the semester with 20 and end with 10, but those 10 impact me greatly. I realize not every student is cut out for online learning and sometimes they try again in my class the next semester....