Why and How I Teach Writing, Part 12: Self-renewal

Socrates (469 BC - 399 BC) photo by Eric Gaba

“Examining both myself and others is really the very best thing that a man can do, and life without this sort of examination is not worth living.” (Socrates in Plato’s Apology, 38a)

In the spirit of Socrates’s observation on the eve of his execution, I continually renew myself as a writer, teacher, and assessor by answering seven questions with specific responses in the general areas of myself, my field, and my clients. Each question begins: What have I done lately to …

1. deepen my subject-matter knowledge?
2. improve my teaching skills?
3. cultivate my own writing?
4. improve in my teaching tips?
5. contribute ideas to the fields of writing, teaching, and learning?
6. help people develop their writing?
7. reaffirm my commitment to writing, teaching, and assessing?