Dear Students

IcebergWe haven’t met yet, but I have been thinking about you for months. Obviously, I do not yet know you personally, but I’ve been thinking about how I can challenge and support you as you embark on your college education.

I love teaching both First Year Seminar and Professional Writing. Although both classes have very different purposes, they do have a lot in common – especially the four goals I have for you:

  1. Caring
  2. Collaborative
  3. Creative
  4. Critical

Be caring and take care. I want you to be caring. Care about yourself, care about your future, care about your classmates, care about me, and care about your world.

Be collaborative. We are not islands. We live and work in communities and we need to learn how to create them, sustain them, and succeed within them.

Be creative. Think outside the box. In fact, think about circles and polygons and nonagons and quatrefoils. Look inside those boundaries and search outside them and push upon them every chance you get. I want you to grow and challenge yourself and me and each other.

Be critical. Question. Question dogmatic statements. Question beliefs. Dive deep into ideas and churn the surface with your flailing. Be an explorer and pursue knowledge and understanding. Treat this class, this semester, your entire college experience as a quest. Enjoy the journey and the experience and do not focus on the end result.

Photo from Wikimedia Commons

 

Author: Deanna Mascle
#TeachingWriting and leading #NWP site @ Morehead State (KY): Passionate about #AuthenticWriting, #DeeperLearning, #PBL, #Ungrading, and #HyperDocs.

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