Teaching Lives: Essays & Stories

by Wendy Bishop

In Teaching Lives, Wendy Bishop gathers twenty-three of her own critical essays from diverse sources, and sets them in the context of her current thinking about composition and teaching. Individually, these essays address a range of critical and pedagogical issues in the teaching of writing. As a collection, they represent Bishop's best work and make a coherent, accessible statement from a prominent scholar at mid-career. This "portable Bishop," then, will give readers in one volume what has been unique about Bishop's prolific contribution to compositon studies since the mid-1980s. Pedagogically process- and response-oriented, she advocates invention-based, exploratory writing for students at all levels. As a researcher, her approach is ethnographic. And in her work with new teachers, she encourages self-study--teacher-research and reflection--as a means toward an informed professional stance. Teaching Lives combines her interest in composition, literature, research, and creative writing and explores the connections among them. Above all, throughout this important work, Bishop affirms and celebrates teaching, the teacher's life, and living a life in teaching.

358 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1997

Reviews

[Justinlohr · Rating 3 out of 5]

A hit or miss collection, but more hits than misses. Many of the essays offer great insights into academic writing and how we might go about dismantling the artificial boundaries between the literature, composition, and creative writing classrooms. Many of the essays I would especially recommend for new 101, literature, and creative writing teachers--I wish someone had pointed them out to me back when I was first starting out, but, even now, they've still given me a lot to think about for the coming semesters.