On Wednesday, April 30, Maryann Miller posted a reference to the above link on Facebook. Mildly curious and nursing an injured shoulder that restricts activity to almost nothing beyond short stints at the computer, I watched/ listened to the short video. And then I listened again…and again. The words resonated more with my “writer” each time I heard its powerful message. Part of the video debated the lasting value of the book 1984 by George Orwell—hence the writer in me snapping to attention—and the teacher was clearly frustrated with the current state of our educational system. I asked myself, “Do parallels exist between writing and teaching? Can we speak ‘in defense of teaching’?” When we write, we often teach life lessons, intentionally or not. Children learn how to treat other children, adults, animals, and so forth. Adults see the results of wrong actions and the worth of positive relationships. Principles, values, and integrity (or lack thereof) in our characte...

This spring, after a hiatus of fifteen years, I found myself agreeing to teach a couple writing courses. Though I taught for several years, in the course of moving three times and bearing a child I had, of course, discarded all of my notes, my past syllabuses and outlines, and my old marked-up textbooks. In short, I found myself facing a whole term with no real teaching plan. Luckily, I knew how to go about writing my syllabus. Here’s what I did: 1. I asked my new supervisor for sample syllabuses and copies of the approved textbooks. Though there are state and national standards for course requirements, each school sets about meeting those standards in its own way. Beginning your relationship with a new school by basing your materials on theirs is not only good manners—it’s a good way be sure that you are in compliance with the school’s internal systems. As you become an established, known quantity you can suggest possible textbooks, or explore innovative teaching methods, but in t...