Great blog post! I agree that the unconscious is something that absolutely needs to be addressed in terms of diversity. I was particularly struck about the unconscious with discussions of implicit bias and police officers in connection with police profiling and police violence when the Black Lives Matter movement first emerged. While as teachers we are not armed in similar ways to police officers, we do have a tremendous amount of power within the classroom, and we must be aware of our unconscious perspectives and biases in order to teach carefully and kindly.

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Hi Ziyad! I enjoyed reading your post! I completely agree that it is simply not enough for Universities to talk about “diversity.” Last winter, I got to see comedian W. Kamau Bell talk about diversity and race in America for MLK day. He made what I thought was a very compelling joke that “diversity” only gets talked about in America in January (for MLK) day and that it paradoxically gets used so often during that month that the word itself is nearly meaningless. I like your suggestions surrounding thoughtful pedagogy and universities’ abilities to close the cultural awareness gap.

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Firstly, what a great title! I knew I had to read your post — and I am so glad I did. I come from a similar pro-teacher background. As an undergrad, I also had great experiences with my teachers and am still in regular contact with many of them today. I really like your connections to your work in residence halls as a “homey” atmosphere — I agree you are absolutely in a teaching position, and even more importantly, I think you are a mentor as well. Your enthusiasm for teaching is electric in this post, as I’m sure it is in real life. Thanks for writing!

Wow, what a stellar post, Cherice! I loved reading this. You set up the difficulty of navigating the classroom, given the complex intersectionality of identity, very well in your introduction. I particularly like the first point you highlighted about keeping students “in the loop” about how and why you are teaching in a particular style. I have tried to do this as well! I am really interested in collaboration in the classroom and recently read a book about this process that emphasized the importance of letting students know your goals and desires for incorporating collaboration. In Collaborative Learning As Democratic Practice: A History, Mara Holt demonstrates that the process of collaboration has been co-opted by teachers since the 1920s in higher education, often reflecting the ideological impetuses of the teachers enacting the practice. Beginning in the 1990s, feminist scholar-teachers began letting their students “in” on the pedagogical aims of collaboration — particularly the ability to recognize the multiplicity of ways to solve problems and to gain respect for others’ ideas in order to strengthen the classroom learning community. Sorry for the ramble, your post just reminded me so much of that book — in the best way! Enjoyed reading your work!

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Loved reading your post, Diana! I, too, came from a small liberal arts college and found similar struggles in adjusting my expectations regarding the role of teaching at a school like Virginia Tech. I am so happy to hear of all the great preparation you received within your department! I had a similar impression with being a TA as well — I, too, felt that the Instructor of Record I worked with was stricter with students than I want to be, as I find my “authentic teaching self.” I am so excited for you as you start teaching!

Hi Ruixiang,
Wow — what a wonderful post! I am so glad I read it! Your perspectives about your own experience in China were fascinating to read. I grew up in a rural, mountainous part of the American South and had similar experiences with education being encouraged. I have since surpassed both of my parents in education level and I too think of it as a way to change my destiny and the trajectory of my own family’s future. Your emphasis on the importance of grades also makes me think about how I can approach grading and critically examine my own practices with grading for international students in the classes I teach.

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Hi Omoule,

I really enjoyed your post! I think you bring up a great point about the interconnectedness of assessment that is ingrained in education. I too, even as a PhD student, often find myself obsessively checking course websites once I turn in work, hoping to see what grade I received. There almost seems to be a strange connection between instant gratification and education, through the distribution of grades.

I also think that you made a fabulous point about how many students may not even know what grades are for when they are younger. This is fascinating — I agree and had never thought about it before. It makes me wonder how early education teachers explain / condition students to think about grades and how that translates to higher education and how students come to understand grades into adulthood.

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I agree! I feel like, especially in terms of writing, college students often contain a lot of anxiety and angst about writing. Whether they feel like they aren’t strong writers, or maybe they just don’t like it, most students I’ve encountered here at VT are aware of how necessary writing is to future personal and professional success. All of those thoughts combined are not a happy environment for playful, creative production. As a way to “loosen things up” in the composition classroom, I have pulled out computer paper and crayons and encouraged students to create a visual representation (of any kind) of the main thesis / argument of what they are trying to convey. In an activity that feels a lot like coloring, many students seem to open up their minds and release some stress associated with writing.

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Great post, Heath!

You made some great connections between mindful learning more broadly and taking a “mindful” approach to historical inquiry. I am also interested in your point about how mindfulness can help students interrogate their own biases as they both encounter sources and conduct their own research. In my field, we often approach this issue in terms of the “rhetorical situation” between a speaker, audience, and a particular exigence. Although it is never that simple in practice or everyday life, considering the connections between authors, audiences, and expectations can also help students be more mindful in their approach to critical thinking as well as mindful learning.

Nice post! I too often worry about how my pedagogy can influence and possibly deteriorate a student’s interest in an entire subject and large body of knowledge. Your comments regarding how we may be able to effectively use technologies to put students into conversation with each other, even outside of the classroom. So far, I have only taught in face-to-face settings, but I found the most productive class periods contain some component of small group or partner work. As a writing teacher, I emphasize the importance of helping students peer review each other’s work, emphasizing that peer review is not only a way to improve your grade, but also a way to see how someone else approaches and thinks through a similar problem, knowledge that can (hopefully) help them follow their passions both within and beyond the classroom.

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