An Interview With Dr. Alcindor

What classes do you teach?

I currently teach Honors Survey of American Literature, College Prep Survey of American Literature and Creative Writing.

Of Those Classes which is your favorite and why?

My favorite class? I would say creative writing is my favorite course to teach.Why? Because I get to expose kids to some interesting styles and techniques that are not necessarily common to a traditional english curriculum.

If you could teach any other class, what would it be and why would you teach that one?

If I could teach an additional course or a different course…I’d like to teach Race, Class, and Gender. I would love to teach Race, Class, Gender and Ethnicities. Or Philosophy. I feel like I could bring an English perspective to RCGE and that would lead to a different course, and an engaging course. Not to say that it’s not engaging now, but it would be different with the enfusion of literature and poetry.

What’s your favorite part of teaching?

Alright, so this is going to sound cliche, but my favorite part of teaching is working with students who are committed to self improvement and to learning. Nothing gives me more pleasure than seeing an idea or concept illuminate in the mind of a student. It’s the only thing keeping me in teaching at this point.

What area of English, or teaching in general, is your favorite?

I enjoy teaching poetry…actually I’m torn. I enjoy teaching poetry and I enjoy teaching fiction. Not for devices, or general comprehension, but for deeper aspects. Deeper aspects like looking at hidden symbols or motifs, like the author’s intent, putting it in conversation with other literature. That’s the kind of stuff I live for.

How did you get into teaching?

So I was a journalism major, and I realized I wanted to be in a profession that paid slightly more to start, and I also worked with kids in a creative writing workshop during college and I found it to be really invigorating and exciting therefore I pursued education.