I am a high school English teacher whose work focuses on equitable, modern, research-based approaches to instruction. My current professional interests are in rethinking approaches to grading systems, modernizing reading instruction, and expanding access to complex texts across literacy levels. I am licensed to teach in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and am a graduate of Northeastern University and the Sposato Graduate School of Education.
- My Teaching Philosophy
Reading and writing are different skills that don’t necessarily inform each other— in my career I’ve met both prolific readers who struggle with sentence structure, as well as great writers who hardly ever read. Because of this, I try to approach the two aspects of English Language Arts— writing and literacy— as separate skills which require different instructional methods, assessments, and objectives. This fact, that reading and writing are fundamentally different, informs much of my philosophy in the classroom.
One problem I try to solve in the classroom is that of mixed assessment. Often in English class a student’s ability to read is assessed by their ability to prove their reading ability through writing. This is why there appears to be so many students whose reading comprehension, when orally assessed, seems proficient, but, when tested on paper, seems lacking. Likewise, a student’s ability to write is often dependent on analyzing something they’ve read. My belief is that, while writing about reading is an important skill, the fact that English classes so often ask students to do all the English skills at the same time— read, analyze, argue, structure, and edit— is counterproductive to the cycles of assessment and feedback required to actually teach students how to become proficient readers and writers.
The best way to actually provide comprehensive— and effective— English instruction, in light of the above assessment-related problems, is to, as often as possible and sensible, find ways to assess— and then instruct— students on individual skills. This means, quite often, stepping away from the traditional means of assessment in a humanities class, which is generally the essay, and finding other means of gauging student ability. Sometimes I do this through de-formalizing written work (I tend to call these types of assignments blog posts) in such a way that students needn’t worry about sticking to conventional style and tonal guidelines. This allows me to more easily assess things like comprehension. Other times, I’ll have students scrapbook, or plan (but not always lead) a lesson on a topic from the current unit, or compose a magazine-style book-review of a unit text.
This approach, largely, has worked. It both gives students an opportunity to demonstrate content knowledge, while also giving me an opportunity to assess student ability on specific English-related skills. The response from students has also been positive: Students generally appreciate being given assignments and projects that are academically rigorous but also creative and interesting. This has led to better student engagement and motivation, as well as an improved overall classroom culture.
Writing and reading do have one thing in common, though: a need for individualized, tailored instruction. It is difficult to present to a group of students a single lesson or idea or strategy that will benefit each individual. Because of this, my approach to English lesson planning is to provide students with as much one-on-one time as possible. My belief is that a five minute conversation with a teacher is, generally, more valuable than 15 minutes of full-class lecturing. This belief is central to my approach to writing instruction. Good writing comes from a cycle of writing, editing, and revision. A one-on-one conversation with a student, sometimes in class, sometimes in office hours, is the most effective way to teach the process and improve individual student performance.
Reading and writing are the most important skills people learn, and to be a good at both is to be set up for success in life. The tricky thing is that reading and writing are difficult and both require deliberate, explicit instruction. It’s important to acknowledge both that literacy is complex and difficult, but also worth the effort. Through using multiple means of assessment, embracing the writing process, and providing tailored one-on-one feedback, I hope to instill in students that to be literate and thoughtful is to be successful in the modern age.