Composition Instructor at University of Tampa
E-mail: JEFHONJOBS@GMAIL.COM
MA Rhetoric & Composition: USF
BA English Literature: Purdue U Calumet
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreylehmanhonnold
My name is Jeff Honnold and I am a rhetoric/writing instructor, as well as being a devoted–or compelled–student of this thing called life. I love teaching…just about all levels and subjects; teaching is my first passion, although music is right there too…so long as I get to work with students & keep my hearing…As far as passions run, rhetoric & writing are also at the top of my list.
___I must make an important note here for any potential employers or “networkers:” I successfully completed all but the student teaching term of the Secondary English Education program at Purdue U Calumet. The only reason I mention this is because I am MA terminal; sadly, no Ph.D. for me as of yet. Also & perhaps more importantly, some post-secondary instructors do not necessarily have much formal, strictly educational training. I have designated, dedicated, strong education training, schooling, theory, & praxis/experience (Purdue’s education program is very good; recognized among its peers as such).____
I hail from central Illinois…born & raised: real “corn-fed,” mid-western origins. I lived & studied in the greater Chicagoland area/NW Indiana for 11 years. My research interests include–but are not limited to–rhetoric [especially OOR: Brown-The Decorum of Objects], writing, pedagogy, literacy(ies), curriculum design, neurology/neurosciences, physics, & how we (re)create ourselves/interact with each other & our world. I am a philosopher by nature, I play drums, work on my automobile(s) & home(s) with my very own hands–this is a profoundly spiritual activity that is becoming obsolete– and will always be deeply in love with music. I am currently teaching two sections of FYW at the U of Tampa as an adjunct and always looking for extra work.
But at the end of the day, my heart remains reserved for students. I believe strongly in a student-centered classroom, wherein the instructor is most accurately described as a coach, guide, or facilitator, but facilitator of a quite distinct definition. George Hillocks, Jr., in his tenure at the University of Chicago, published a piece in collaboration with two others proposing that carefully designed tasks, let loose on students and, especially, small student groups yield a vastly superior result to other teaching methods in writing classrooms. Essentially, I have integrated this style into a constantly refined approach that dictates a few things: I am not the center of the classroom environment, students engage actively in their own writing & learning using targeted curriculum appropriate to their zone of approximate development, and the students understand exactly what is expected but in their own terms as well…outcomes defined from their stance, in conjunction with popular, traditional, or generic composition pedagogies. In short, I care more about real student development than my own, codified agendas as structured by the academic machine. I have learned enough to know that I only know a little. This stance keeps my vision from getting overly myopic.
I am open to students, teachers, writers, rhetoricians, scientists, musicians; in short, anyone that is an interested, active participant in their own life. I love networking & communicating so please don’t hesitate to contact me with anything!
Authentically,
jeff honnold
