My teaching career began at a private language institute in Dandong, a small border town nestled between North Korea and China. My job was to teach Korean and Chinese students an eclectic array of classes such as “Oral English,” “Business Writing” and “Writing and Culture for Students Going Overseas.”  I would be asked questions my graduate training had not prepared me for such as “why do you say ‘an apple’ but not ‘an watermelon?” or “How can China have racism if there are no black people?” Despite having my carefully prepared lesson plans at hand, I felt severely underprepared every time I stepped into a room. It wasn’t until I started learning Chinese and had questions of my own that I finally related to my students.

It was the combination of being a teacher as well as a student in China that helped form my constantly evolving teaching philosophy. It comprises of three equally important parts.  The first part is to show students the importance of written communication.  Many of my students view writing as a chore with no “real world” application.  To remedy this, I incorporate “real world” assignments such as cover-letters, analysis on issues relating to college politics, state and federal politics, or even reality television stars. I also incorporate technology such as blackboard, power-point, academic blogs, internet sites, and sometimes reference social networking sites like Facebook for certain assignments.

The second part of my philosophy is the necessity of group cohesion. Without it, the more outspoken students are active in participation while the more reserved students fade into the background because they feel that their opinion is somehow less valid; first day ice-breakers can only do so much. I have structured “Navdeep’s Grammar Bootcamp” to help and it is based largely on my eight years in the U.S. Navy. I don’t scream at anyone or require them to do pushups, but I do require a mixture of individual and teamwork. Everyone quickly realizes that they are all in the same metaphoric boat: nobody knows all of the commonly misused grammar rules or how to fix them. The first few weeks consist of intense grammar drills, exercises, and quizzes. This provides an easy shift to writing essays and conducting peer-editing workshops.

The final part of my philosophy is my role. I don’t like to think of myself solely as a teacher because that implies that I have the “correct” answers hidden away in a desk drawer somewhere. (this is only occasionally true). I view my job as that of a facilitator: to provide my students with the skills they need to think critically, write for different situations, and present their views in written form on various issues using proper syntax, organization, logic, support, and a professional tone. I don’t expect my students to want to major in English  after taking my class (although I wouldn’t discourage anyone!) but I do want them to realize the power that written communication has even in the “real world.”