I don't like the idea of being pigeonholed into one form of teaching or another. I associate myself more with the "expressivist" point of view than any other--and I know that's like saying I'm a communist--but I don't strictly adhere to everything that the expressivists advocate.
Why is it that we always have to label things that puts us in one camp or another? A good example of this phenomenon would be abortion. Can I be pro-abortion if it occurs in the early stages of pregnancy and be against it if it involves partial-birth abortion? It can't be done according to radicals on both sides. "Your'e either with or against us" is the motto. I have always refused to play that game.
When we teach, we do what works best for us. We can study pedagogy theories until the cows come home, but in the end it all boils down to our ability to disseminate information to the students. It doesn't rely on labels that define our teaching style. Whether it's Flowers, Bartholmae, or Elbow we would like to emulate, it still boils down to US. If someone can figure out the right and wrong ways to teach then I would quickly prescribe to that point of view, and we would all be drawing the same pictures for 603. The theorists may have good ideas, but let them come and try to teach my evening class of apathetic, sleepy students who have worked all day and could give a rat's ass about English. I wonder how successful they would be?
Does anybody know Elbow's number? I think I'll call him and see if he can give me a one on one with my class.
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