As an instructor of composition and literature, my primary goal is always to show students how to learn. Among the skills they will need to succeed in any career path are the ability to think critically, analyze and evaluate fairly, understand context, and inform themselves in areas/subjects in which they had no prior knowledge. My own experience in the corporate world has taught me that the teacher/student relationship is a temporary one, and the most successful adults are those who can navigate the ambiguities and pitfalls of the modern working world. Since the teacher/student relationship breaks down on graduation day, I help my students become self-sufficient learners by gradually de-emphasizing their dependent role as recipients of knowledge and my authoritative role as interpreter or dispenser of that knowledge.

The discipline of Comparative Literature is ideally suited to help both first year composition students and upperclassmen to break down their dependency on authority figures. By showing students how to read critically and respond critically to writing born of different perspectives, I help them to understand that reading and writing are learning. By reading opposing sides of a controversial issue, or differing perspectives on the same theme, students engage with multiple "ways" of thinking and analyzing critically.