tentative syllabus ENGL513 Composition Theory & Pedagogy
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LEE TORDA 310 Tillinghast Hall
508.531.2436/ltorda@bridgew.edu/www.leetorda.com Attend Zoom Class by clicking on this link. |
All office hours for students will be held on Zoom until further notice.
Attend Any Zoom Office hours by clicking on this link. M&W 12:30-1:30, T 4:00-5:00, and by appointment Schedule a time to meet with me, during office hours or otherwise, by clicking on this link. |
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Kayleigh Holt is from Somerset, MA. She currently lives in Fall River, MA and teaches 8th grade ELA at the middle school she went to in Somerset. This is her 4th year as a full-time teacher, prior to that she was a Special Needs Paraprofessional. Her biggest challenge as a para was not having full agency of her classroom. As a full-time teacher, she loves crafting her lessons and having her own space. Kayleigh earned her Bachelor of Arts from Emerson College with a focus on writing, literature, and publishing. After internships at Barefoot Books in Cambridge and Penguin Books in New York, she realized publishing was not her passion. She then took her love for English to the field of teaching and enjoys bringing this joy to her students. In her free time Kayleigh enjoys coaching Somerset’s high school tennis team, drinking tea, and playing with her Australian Shepherd dog Koji. Prior to the pandemic, she loved seeing live music often and was thrilled to attend the Newport Folk Fest this past summer. Kayleigh is nearing the end of her program. After she takes her last two courses this summer she will officially have an MAT in English.
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Megan Griffin grew up in Ashford, Connecticut, a small town right next to the University of Connecticut. For her undergraduate work, Megan crossed the border into Massachusetts to attend Bay Path University. When it came time to begin her graduate program, she felt that she was ready for something new and decided to make her way to Bridgewater, where she now lives within walking distance from campus. Megan is in her second semester of the MA program. In addition to her courses, she also holds a Graduate Assistantship at the Academic Achievement Center. She is applying for internships right now, and is still figuring out what realm of writing interests her the most and what direction her eventual career path will take. Megan is interested in a variety of activities and began watercolor painting during the pandemic. She loves being in nature, particularly by the water, and enjoys walking on the beach alone and going on hikes with others. Megan is always listening to music, loves live music especially, and prefers tea over coffee anyday.
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Ashley Merola re-entered the halls of her alma mater, Stoughton High School, three years ago, with a shiny, new degree from Framingham State University and a couple of years of substitute teaching under her belt, to teach 11th grade literature and 12th grade composition courses. Of course, she walked back out of those halls about seven months later, as did the rest of the world, as she continued to navigate the demands of first-year teaching from the other side of her students’ screens. Not only is Ashley now the advisor for the Stoughton High School newspaper, she is tackling her third graduate class in BSU’s MAT program, caring for her roommate, Sam the cat, and mastering her hobbies of baking and crocheting. When life feels far too full, she pours a cup of chai tea to enjoy with a good book – or a few episodes of New Girl – depending on what the circumstance requires. In another ten years, Ashley hopes her career will look much the same, teaching in the very community where her love of learning began, with possible sights on entering the world of adult education. To put it simply, Ashley loves literacy and is eager to foster that love in others, as well.
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Sarah Bond teaches eighth-grade English Language Arts at King Philip Middle School and has over 20 years of experience in the field of education. Originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, she started her teaching career in 2001 at her alma mater, where she was asked to take over an Advanced Placement English course by chance after a colleague withdrew from the position. The opportunity, although slightly frightening to a first-year teacher, did not prove as daunting with the aid of a mentor who assisted her along the way. Having taught through the tragedy of September 11th, Sarah is no stranger to the social-emotional challenges teachers have been facing during the current COVID-19 pandemic. She continued to add a surplus of skills and strategies to her teacher toolbox when she, her husband, and her four daughters moved to a small town in South Carolina. There, she fell in love with teaching middle school and felt as if it truly helped her learn how to be an effective educator. She adapted and modified her lessons to accommodate multiple grade levels, as well as a diverse range of demographics. Sarah then took a break from teaching full-time until her daughters grew older, but returned to the profession when she moved to Massachusetts. Now, her oldest daughter has begun the college planning process and is considering a career in teaching, just like her mother. In addition to spending time with her family, Sarah enjoys sitting around the fire while camping and taking day trips across New England. She looks forward to finishing her Master’s program here at BSU soon, as she has only a few courses to go. We will without a doubt benefit from her wealth of pedagogical knowledge this semester!
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Alyssa Campbell is a funny, kind, and positive 22 year old. She completed her undergraduate degree from Stonehill College in English with Secondary Education. She graduated during the golden year of 2020 during the height of the pandemic. She is currently a first-year teacher at Wamsutta Middle School in Attleboro, her hometown! She teaches 6th grade English Language Arts and Social Studies. Alyssa is an Aries Sun and Libra Moon, so she seems to be at constant war with herself over every decision she’s ever made. She is her own worst enemy! Alyssa obviously likes to write and read! She runs a book club at her school for fifth and sixth graders, and I can guarantee that they love it. Aside from her busy work life, she makes time for herself. Her favorite movie series is Avengers, followed by, a sci-fi mind boggler, Interstellar. Alyssa adores her beautiful dog, Romie. She likes going to the gym and sharing positive quotes. She is quite an inspiration to those of us who cannot motivate ourselves to workout. She is a pro-punner, making such bad jokes that her students groan and beg her to stop. “Ms. Campbell, please!” Alyssa is also an older sister to one younger sister who is a junior at her local high school (and who is both her best friend and the bane of her existence.) If you see this nerdy girl driving around in her new Hyundai Kona, be sure to give her a wave, you won’t regret it!
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Olivia Limoncelli is a 23 year old Taurus who completed her undergraduate program at Framingham State University in Secondary Education and English. She also was President of the Class of 2020! She has two pets named after car brands that she only wishes she could own: an energetic black lab named Bentley (who likes to eat books, remotes, and anything in sight), and a cat named Mercedes (she’s the golden child). While she wishes to own a Mercedes or a Bentley, her actual choice of a vehicle and her current ride is a minivan; Olivia should perhaps be crowned the ultimate soccer mom. While she does not have kids of her own, she does have three little sisters, who are 12, 7, and 6! Her taste in movies is perhaps not for the faint of heart: horror and psychological thrillers. Olivia currently lives in Hanson, MA, but she teaches in her home town of Quincy. She is a second year English Language Arts teacher for 8th grade. She also runs Student Council at her school, South-West Middle School. Additionally, she hosts a Walking Club annually in the spring, open for seventh and eighth grade students. The participants of the Walking Club walk in the surrounding neighborhoods around the school, as well as work together to complete various activities.
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Brian Seibert is currently in his third year as a 6th grade teacher at Randolph Community Middle School. Brian currently lives in Taunton, MA, but will soon be a proud homeowner (and koi pond owner) in Middleborough. Brian graduated from BSU in 2011 with his degree in physical education. After graduating, he briefly worked at a warehouse before realizing he wanted to become a teacher and returned to BSU. Brian has taught 5th, 6th, 7th, and some high school, but he loves teaching 6th grade because of their energy and enthusiasm. However, this same energy and enthusiasm can drive Brian a little crazy at times. Aside from teaching, Brian has been coaching track and field since 2009 and has spent the past three years as the boys’ sprints and hurdles coach at Stoughton High School. As a former hurdler, Brian finds the most joy in coaching this obstacle-driven race. Thanks to Brian’s excellent coaching, as well as his athletes’ excellent abilities, the boys’ track and field team placed second in the entire state in the spring of 2021. Brian also enjoys traveling and has been to both Canada and Iceland.
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Maura Geoghegan is in her third year of teaching 9th and 10th grade English at Shrewsbury High School. If she had to choose a favorite of the two she would pick 9th grade because they are a lot of fun to teach and she prefers the books she teaches to that grade. She is a Foxboro native who received her degree at Assumption University, where she ran track and field. Her main event was running the grueling 400 meter race. As a senior she broke 60 seconds (super impressive, for those not familiar with the sport!). Also, she was part of their 4x400m relay that placed 3rd in the league and 7th in New England. She has family on her dad’s side that still lives in Ireland. She visits as often as she can and has visited castles, some of which may have been haunted. At the time of writing this, she was awaiting the DNA results from Ancestry, so it is possible that she has Viking blood. She loves to travel, especially to Rome, where she was lucky enough to study abroad. Maura is a huge Taylor Swift fan. She has seen her in concert every time she has come to town and has even been to her house! Maura claims Swift is a very nice lady (thank goodness). Maura has a rescue dog named Puca, named after a creature from Celtic folklore who is a bit crazy. Apparently, the dog is aptly named. Finally, if Maura could be any kitchen item it would be a measuring cup because she is fair, organized, and level.
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Melissa Batty is a dog mom, and hopes you enjoy the photo of her beloved Corgi/Cattle Dog rescue, Breena. This is Melissa’s second semester in the MA, English program; she plans on pursuing a Ph.D. in Indigenous American studies. Her goal is to become a university professor, and metaphorically speaking, set fire to the imperialistic institution of higher education and the English canon. Outside of academia, Melissa enjoys snuggling up with a good book, walking and playing with her pup, binge-watching The Walking Dead, baking yummy treats for her loved ones, and sleeping (alas, never enough time for that). Melissa is an avid traveler, although, in the last two years, the farthest she’s traveled to outside of Massachusetts, is Rhode Island . She hopes to travel to Ireland this summer, via Dr. Scheible’s "Ireland Before and After James Joyce" course. However, despite its centenary status, she does not look forward to reading his “masterpiece” Ulysses, –– she has tried in the past several times and epically failed (although Melissa believes in post-colonialism and decolonization in the classroom, she does not enjoy the lack of any compositional structure in Ulysses). Although she understands the conversation may get heated, Melissa would love to hear anyone’s thoughts on em dashes and the Oxford comma, as she is a fan of both.
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Matthew Cutter is a teacher at Abington High School. He teaches mostly sophomores and one senior class, and he always looks forward to teaching Watchmen to his seniors. Matt loves to travel, and he’s been to some really awesome places! His favorites have been Amsterdam, Las Vegas, and the always lovely Disney World. In his free time he escapes to worlds of adventure in various RPG games. Matt’s preferred genre of music is punk/alternative rock, but he wouldn’t limit himself to just those genres. He’s a Libra, but while most Libra’s loathe chaos Matt indulges with “way too many” horror films (a favorite pastime). He then reinvites harmony and balance back into his life with his favorite color – bright yellow (the happier the better).
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Shauna Cascarella was drawn to becoming a teacher through a dream induced during anesthesia. She dreamt that she quit her job as a journalist and became an English teacher. Shauna, quite literally, followed her dreams, went back to school, and became that English teacher. Origin story aside, Shauna’s favorite genres of books and movies are generally horror, but The Pearl, by John Steinbeck, happens to be her favorite book and she re-reads it often. She plays a lot of video games as well, and would describe herself as an indoor kid. Despite this, Shauna enjoys plenty of outdoor activities and will often go hiking in the woods. Along with hiking, she enjoys paddle boarding (something that always looks super hard), running, and biking. Shauna is celebrating being happily divorced by marrying again… this month! Congrats, Shauna!
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Lee Torda celebrates 21 years of teaching at Bridgewater State University this academic year. Despite some rough patches in the past few years, including teaching fully remotely for one and a half of them, she is grateful for her time. As Associate Professor of English and Writing Program Administrator, she helps to coordinate first year writing at BSU, a course she teaches every fall. Some fellow faculty aren't in love with teaching first year students, but Lee welcomes the chance to work with new writers in the university. Her two proudest career accomplishments are steering the BSU undergraduate research program to much success as its first director and, most of all, for eliminating not-for-credit writing at BSU and replacing it with an award winning supported sections of FYW. Lee recently moved to New Bedford from Jamaica Plain in Boston. it's been an adjustment for sure, but her newfound greatest joy is walking to Fort Tabor along the Cove Walk. She lives in a big old house with her husband and three aged cats and reads.
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