Teaching

Jenn Monroe has been teaching writing at the college level for more than 20 years.

Teaching Philosophy

My teaching philosophy is founded on creating an equitable classroom. I am committed to labor-based assessment, and approach all teaching situations with full awareness of the fact that not every student will have had the same learning opportunities prior to entering my course.

I am committed to designing and teaching courses in which there is a deep connection between learning how to express oneself on the page and learning how to express oneself in the world, while gaining an understanding that many writers do so at great risk. No matter their prior educational opportunities my constant goal is to build students' awareness of global inequities, with a focus on voices and perspectives that are suppressed and silenced.

Undertaking this type of study requires students to build critical thinking, active reading, and expository writing skills, which they then can apply to situations outside of the classroom. Through reading, discussion, and writing about texts featuring perspectives and experiences different from their own they attain skills necessary to build equitable communities.

In workshops and peer response activities I encourage students to first read like writers--to work toward an understanding of the choices their peers make in their work, and to acknowledge individual style and voice. I do this myself, by way of example, and to get a better understanding of what my students are trying to accomplish with their work. Keeping their goals in mind allows me to help them find what is most effective in their writing and, ultimately, help them continue to reach their audiences successfully. This approach fosters strong bonds between students who then continue to support one another throughout their academic careers.

It also is important for students to see professional writers working toward amplifying suppressed voices and centering issues that historically have been ignored (at best) or fully silenced through oppression and violence. I assign and we discuss banned and challenged texts, as well as news and scholarly articles about censorship and free speech. At the heart of it all, however, is the power of language, who is "allowed" to wield it, and the responsibility each writer bears when they put words on a page. Students leave my classes with a deep understanding of the legacy of suppression, an appreciation for the many variations of English, and increased confidence in expressing themselves through their unique voices.