The Shorter Winding Road

When I was recently laid off from a 12-year position teaching ESL -- along with the rest of our adult ed center -- I thought back to my original motivation to write and to teach.  My most memorable undergrad course was Rhetoric 101.  Along with Eng. 101 and Comp. Lit., also offered at Cal, our writing course shared the goal of "freshman writing course," but, where the others sought to essentially direct students through the 5-paragraph essay, Rhet. 101 schooled us in the "art of persuasion," that is, the argumentative essay.  To reach that destination, we had to engage in lively debates and learn critical thinking.  I look forward to working with students on the remedial level (not entirely new territory after ESL) as well as the "art of persuasion" level.  The SFSU Comp MA looks to be the best path to that goal.