When I started teaching, writing instruction was a footnote to the overall content. The focus was on the literature, and teachers were expected to provide all the answers, which students dutifully regurgitated on tests. Now, student exploration informs my instruction.
In the old days, teachers felt that some students had writing talent and those students were cultivated. After a thirteen-year stint in the world of business, I recognize that all students need to write beyond the research or the literary analysis paper. Today, I believe that writing is a skill that all students need to develop, and my assignments reflect those needs.
When I started teaching, I thought I knew about kids because I was part of their generation. However, after raising my own children, I better understand a wider variety of student types and have become a more compassionate teacher.
Linda Kerschner
Berwyn, PA
English teacher since 1976
(with a 13-year hiatus in industry, including the pharmaceutical, financial, communications, and IT sectors). I have taught at the high school, undergraduate university, and graduate university levels.