Category: Fall 2022

by Constantin Schreiber

When I came to Baruch College’s First-Year Writing (FYW) program as an adjunct instructor, I was told that the program, in addition to its “regular” classes, offered T-sections for English Language Learners (ELLs; see Lacelle Peterson & Rivera, 1994). I didn’t immediately grasp the conceptual and pedagogical complexity of these courses. With a background in English as a Second Language (ESL), language teaching, and (applied) linguistics, I mistook them to be more or less FYW courses for ESL or ELL students, a type of course I had encountered early on in my training.

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by Safia Jama

I walked by my colleague’s desk at 7:40AM last week and decided to interrupt his early morning ritual of quiet work with a loud “Good morning!” After some brief chit-chat and inquiries into how our respective semesters were going, his voice dropped: “Some of my students are just… lost. And I’m not sure what I can do to reach them.”

“That is a topic,” I said, appreciating his honesty while making a mental note to pick up the thread again later when I had more time. Since then, I have pondered my colleague’s concern for his students and our brief exchange has inspired me to share with you an activity that I call “The Mindful Freewrite.”

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