| BA English, BA Spanish; Universidad de Granada & University of New Mexico MFA Poetry; Warren Wilson College email: van.wheeler@pcc.edu phone: 971.722.8012 |
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¡Hola! My full name is William Vandoren Wheeler, but I go by “Van.” I am privileged to teach what I love: writing and literature. My teaching approach includes a tiny bit of lecture, a healthy dose of strange but helpful class activities, and a reliance on robust class discussions. You read the work, then show up to class excited or enlightened or bored and/or confused. Instead of me just lecturing on what it “really means,” I love attempting to gel various student insights into a cohesive, complex whole.
I am not the type of English teacher who thinks whatever whimsical reaction you first jot down is perfect and precious; I know your mind is holding on to more complex, profound insights that only surface through the work of revision. I ask for close, careful reading backed up by critical thinking. I hope our readings and discussions challenge your preconceptions and prejudices, whatever they may be. And most of all, I pray you simply find a bit of joy in what we read and write together. I am not trying to turn everyone into poets, just people a bit more open to the beauty and meaning the world is teeming with.