Mike Rose

What Mike Rose and those similar minded like him advocated for 29 years ago is now a reality in the community college district I teach for.  This article details many similarities that I would define as components of my teaching philosophy.  To begin, many students are overly concerned with spelling and minor grammatical errors and believe those are the sole reasons many believe they can’t write academically.  I’ve experienced this on multiple occasions, so now I try to disarm students by letting them know that because writing is a project and always ongoing there will be time enough to catch those errors without “the grade” being affected.  In this way, the students feel more at ease at just trying to compose without the anxiety, knowing revision is possible.  One thing that I question is Mike’s problem with trying to diagnose what some common errors of your particular students are.  I give a diagnostic writing prompt the first day of class and I explain to the students that I’m looking for both what and how you say things as well as identify so-called “problem areas” that are unique to their particular class.  The other snippets Mike lists also have a spot in my philosophy. 

I would rather talk about what I find the most significant idea that became a reality is the removal of the term remedial in course titles and language used within the discipline.  But it’s not the term’s removal in itself, it is the pedagogy that surrounds these classes that has changed.  The replacement term “Basic Skills” is not any better in its literal definition and it is still implicit with many stigmas (most negative) as well.  As an instructor of these basic skills classes, my objective is not to teach basic skills, but to teach composition as a non-credit course where students are able to become familiar or re-acquaint themselves with the traditional academic discourse.  Basic skill courses no longer are grammar intensive and focused on mechanics like days of old.  Basic skills classes of today are focused on students thinking, reading, and writing critically like the freshman comp courses they will soon embark upon.  Mike being my personal friend has indirectly influenced my philosophy through our many conversations without my noticing it until now.