Deciduous Philosophy

It seems as though my teaching philosophy changes every few years. I wrote one over thirteen years ago when I was looking for a teaching position. I don’t even remember what I wrote. But I am for sure that my ideas have changed since then. And frankly, my philosophy today — whatever that is— will probably be different once I finish my master's degree. Speaking of a master's degree, I have a confession to make: The more I learn about rhetoric and composition, and sit in different professor’s classrooms, soaking up their respective teaching styles, the more I feel confused about what to do and what not to do in my classroom. There are so many different theories (Elbow vs. Bartholomae vs. Otte), acronyms (SRTOL, AAVE, WE), and ways of doing things (Student contracts! Alternative writing? Academic voice solemente, por favor!) that my head feels swollen and wobbly like those silly looking bobble head figures that sit on car dashboards. I know… I'm the grad student, and it’s my job to sift through all this information and conjure a coherent curriculum. But good lord, that’s a lot to sift through.