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ana 8oslnskl
1eachlng SLaLemenL


ComposlLlon ls poLenLlal. lL ls Lhe space Lo compose from a vasL comblnaLlon of maLerlals and
communlcaLe a hosL of locaLlons. 1hls ls where l see my poLenLlal as a scholar and educaLor ln
maklng vlslble Lhe posslblllLy ln whaL lL means Lo wrlLe.

My undergraduaLe educaLlon Lralned me as a Leacher of secondary educaLlon. WhaL l
possessed was a deLermlnaLlon Lo demysLlfy wrlLlng, buL whaL l lacked was language or
pedagogy Lo do so. l found myself aL a loss for engaglng noL only whaL wrlLlng was, buL how lL
was done, why lL was done, and Lhe manner ln whlch lL clrculaLed. My flrsL Lngllsh Leachlng
poslLlon revealed Lhe complexlLy of Leachlng wrlLlng ln a sLandardlzed currlculum channeled
Loward LesLlng proflclency, servlng as caLalysL for me Lo pursulL a MA degree ln WrlLLen
CommunlcaLlon aL LasLern Mlchlgan unlverslLy. ln my MA program, l sLudled wrlLlng Lheory and
pedagogy, Lechnlcal communlcaLlon, and rheLorlc, noLlons of whaL lL meanL Lo wrlLe expanded
beyond llnearlLy as composlLlon LhaL consldered hlsLorles, relaLlonshlps, and Lermlnology of
people, places, and evenLs. WrlLlng moved beyond a process Lo an acLlon LhaL was mlndful of
maLerlallLy, connecLlvlLy, and clrculaLlon. Whlle my own scholarshlp ln Lhe maklng played aL Lhe
edges of posslblllLy, searchlng for Lheory enacLed as meLhod, l was granLed Lhe opporLunlLy Lo
Leach courses ln Lhe unlverslLy's flrsL year wrlLlng program, LuLor ln Lhe unlverslLy wrlLlng
cenLer, and serve as managlng edlLor and co-developer of a flexlbly referred onllne [ournal LhaL
publlshed sLudenL work from wrlLlng lnLenslve courses across Lhe unlverslLy. l worked Lo deslgn
a balance of Lheory and pedagogy LhaL pushed aL whaL was avallable Lo compose.

1eachlng WrlLlng Lhe College Lxperlence" and WrlLlng Lhe ubllc Lxperlence", as well as co-
Leachlng and workshopplng wlLh a secLlon of condlLlonally admlLLed sLudenLs Lo Lhe unlverslLy
Lhrough a granL program wlLh ueLrolL ubllc Schools, provlded me space Lo enacL a pedagogy
LhaL encouraged sLudenLs Lo conslder whaL was (un)avallable ln composlng. As a focus on
meLhodology, composlLlon as poLenLlal Lakes dlfferenL shapes ln Lhe classroom, buL whaL
remalns ls an emphasls on maLerlallLy ln composlng - whaL ls avallable and for whaL purpose.
1ogeLher we unpacked maLerlallLy Lo undersLand lL as maLerlal Lhlngs as well as semloLlc -
evenLs, places, values, lnsLlLuLlons, pracLlces. SLudenLs deslgned and creaLed medla rlch LexLs
LhaL funcLloned as ecologles of Lhelr own llLeracles, experlences, and knowledge slLuaLed wlLhln
lnfluence relaLlons. ln creaLlng a llLeracy narraLlve, sLudenL/agenLs recorded audlo podcasLs of
Lhelr LexL Lo be read wlLh dlglLal lnsLallaLlons LhaL Lraced Lhe arLlfacLs and sponsors of Lhelr
llLeracy Lhrough Llme and space. lor anoLher pro[ecL, sLudenL/agenLs creaLed lnLeracLlve
Llmellnes LhaL wove Lhelr hlsLory growlng up ln Lhelr homeLown LogeLher wlLh eLhnographlc
research Lhey conducLed on Lhe spaces, places, people and evenLs of Lhe clLy. 1hese lllumlnaLed
pro[ecLs, among many oLhers of varylng scope, make vlslble Lhe Lype of connecLlvlLy beLween
sLudenLs' self(s) and larger forces of lnfluence LhaL work Lo compose and decompose wrlLlng. ln
dlalogues and ln composlng, l am consLanLly worklng wlLh my sLudenL/agenLs Lo push aL Lhe
edges of whaL ls noLlced, expecLed, and accepLed.

1uLorlng ln Lhe maln locaLlon of Lhe WrlLlng CenLer, as well as ln Lhe saLelllLe spaces ln 1he
College of 1echnology and Lhe mulLlmedla Academlc ro[ecLs CenLer, puL me lnLo conversaLlon
wlLh composlLlon wrlL large. l worked wlLh sLudenLs from across Lhe currlculum on a range of
pro[ecLs, buL whaL was aL Lhe core of each consulLaLlon was Lhls mlndfulness of whaL lL means
Lo wrlLe. CommunlcaLlons presenLaLlons, web slLe deslgn and consLrucLlon pro[ecLs, flrsL year
wrlLlng essays, blology lab reporLs, nurslng sLaLemenLs: each consulLaLlon was poLenLlal Lo work
alongslde sLudenL wrlLers Lo uncover Lhe posslblllLy ln form and maLerlallLy, relaLlonshlps Lo
esLabllshed knowledge and slLuaLlon, and whaL Lhe LexL was deslgned Lo do. 1he sLudenLs were
as dlverse as Lhe sub[ecL maLLer - flrsL generaLlon college sLudenLs, reLurnlng sLudenLs, worklng
parenLs, lnLernaLlonal sLudenLs - buL an approach of maklng vlslble noL only whaL composed a
LexL, buL how and why cholces were made, made wrlLlng a dynamlc process ln Lhe maklng. 1hls
was a focus, for me, on demysLlfylng wrlLlng Lo reveal lL as an acLlon, so LhaL lL dldn'L maLLer lf
Lhe sLudenL wlLh whom l was worklng was someone l saw repeaLedly, or someone l wouldn'L
llkely cross paLhs wlLh agaln, Lhey mlghL see beyond wrlLlng as monollLhlc and see Lhelr
poLenLlal of Lhelr LexLs ln composlng.

Worklng wlLh a small Leam of sLudenLs under Lhe guldance and vlslon of a professor, l asslsLed
ln Lhe creaLlon of !"#$%&'()*, a space Lo publlsh sLudenL wrlLlng LhaL could clrculaLe beyond
Lhe walls of Lhe classroom. SLudenLs (or lnsLrucLors) submlLLed work Lo represenL Lhe poLenLlal
ln LexLs creaLed across Lhe unlverslLy. As a group, Lhe [ournal Lraveled Lo a local conference and
Lo Lhe +%(,-'-(.- %( +%**-0- +%12%3454%( )(6 +%11&(4.)54%( Lo make vlslble Lhe posslblllLy ln
such a sLudenL publlcaLlon model. LxlsLlng on Lhe web lL ls low of cosL, able Lo clrculaLe wlLh
pasLlng of a hyperllnk, ls capable of connecLlng on oLher plaLforms, and permlLs an
lnLerdlsclpllnary vlew of whaL lL means Lo wrlLe. lurLher, lL expands noLlons of whaL lL means Lo
wrlLe by allowlng for medla componenLs and oLher LexLual feaLures LhaL cannoL be capLured ln
prlnL. 1races of Lhls work were publlshed ln 7)4'%3, "Lessons ln CeneraLlve ueslgn, ubllshlng,
and ClrculaLlon: WhaL !"8$%&'()*'s llrsL ?ear Pas 1aughL us", as represenLaLlon of whaL wrlLlng
can do.

ComposlLlon ls dynamlc, buL whaL exlsLs ln flux ls how lL ls enacLed Lhrough composlng - Lo
challenge, Lo connecL, Lo quesLlon, and Lo relaLe. ComposlLlon becomes Laklng rlsks and
carefully reflecLlng on Lhe posslblllLles and llmlLaLlons of composed LexLs. ercelvlng LexLs of
sLudenL creaLlon wlLh such careful conLemplaLlon exLends lnLo how sLudenLs lnLeracL wlLh Lhe
world, an acLlvaLlon of acLlon Lhrough engagemenL wlLh LexLs. ConslderaLlons of maLerlallLy,
connecLlvlLy, and clrculaLlon form Lhe framework of my pedagoglcal maLerlals and Lake shape
from and respond Lo Lhe complex and dynamlc webs ln whlch we as global clLlzens and agenLs
of change are slLuaLed. WlLhln Lhe composlLlon classroom ls noL only Lhe poLenLlal Lo creaLe
LexLs, buL Lhe poLenLlal Lo creaLe LexLs LhaL clrculaLe and shape our world(s).