All my classes strive to explain the power of literary study. We are made of language, down to our most cherished assumptions about ourselves, and to live in ignorance of our imaginative framework can and does lead to disaster. Their ability to analyze the texts that surround them will follow them for their entire lives. And I want students to know that their contribution to the process counts. I do have some clue where discussion will head in courses I've taught previously, and those three subthemes usually make it to the floor.
Discussion makes for peer testing of ideas.
I don't cotton to the model that I'm simply pouring information into my students' heads and, as I mentioned above, I also think students must motivate themselves. Discussion isn't everything, but it does authorize students' voices. The twin concerns of trying to keep a few voices from dominating discussion and getting just about everyone to participate are the greatest challenges, I think. First, I think the seriousness with which I treat the subject of literature makes an impression. I think that my respect for students' opinions, making the classroom an open forum, also inspires constructive thought.