This Issue: September 25, 1997
Features this week...McWilliams is named Director of Freshman EnglishPhi MuChi OmegaAlpha Gam Pledge ClassTrojan Cookout |
McWilliams is named Director of Freshman EnglishSusan Hubscher, Staff Writer One of the many new faces at Troy State University this year is Dr. Cynthia McWilliams. McWilliams began teaching at Troy this summer after she earned her doctorate degree from Southern Illinois. She is the new director of freshmen English. "It was pleasant to be asked (to teach at other schools), but it is great to be here." McWilliams is getting ready to head up the freshman composition program which includes 090, 091, 101, 102 and honors 103 and 104. "I am going to get a sense of what everyone in the English department feel about what this program, should be, " said McWilliams. The most important way to improve one's writing is to write a lot, she said. One of her goals is to get students to be comfortable with their own writing and be able to catch mistakes. "I want the students to share their writing with their peers and to write journals or daily assignments," she said. "Not all will be graded, but I want them to be comfortable with the writing process. Then, I will be able to work on their individual problems." McWilliams also wants to teach students to write to audiences of different people. "Write to me as a mom, a woman, someone who is concerned about the environment or the poor," she said. "Don't write to me as a teacher." She hopes that this approach will allow students to learn to write for pleasure. "Troy State is mostly made up of traditional students, ages 18-22," she said. "They may have jobs to help support themselves or just for extra money. Non-traditional students have families, have returned to school after starting a family or have jobs to support their family. Looking at these two groups so closely gives me that different approach to the classroom." McWilliams must get used to not only a new school but also a new community. Troy is different from what she is used to, she said. "I love my hometown, but here I am more aware of who my neighbors are," she said. "They have introduced me and my daughter to church. It's very nice." McWilliams has a strong background in English education. She has a masters from Moorehead State. She then taught at a community college in her hometown. She returned to school and prepared her dissertation on traditional versus non-traditional students. Return to the start of the Features section... |
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