Invasion of Privacy: The past, present, and future of INTD 105 with Professor D’Angelo
In terms of general education requirements for SUNY Geneseo students, few courses have the same reputation and general hesitancy as INTD 105: the writing seminar. Often taken in the first year of one’s time at Geneseo, there are numerous different sections, topics, and styles that cover the same basic principles about how writing is thought about at the collegiate level, generally in vast contrast to the high school level. Professor Lisa D’Angelo, instructor for “The Modern Age in America” sections of INTD 105, not only acknowledges the uncertainty that many students feel as they transition into their college life, but incorporates it into her curriculum as a way of not only helping grow the writer, but the person as well.
Having not only grown up locally but also having graduated with a BA from SUNY Geneseo and getting her masters from SUNY Brockport and teaching certificate from Nazareth, Professor D’Angelo is no stranger to the Rochester area. Professor D’Angelo’s teaching certification first led her to the small town of Caledonia, just a short distance away from the campus, as a middle school English teacher for eighteen years. Professor D’Angelo recalled, “Because I had had this dream of having a PhD and teaching collegiately, when I left Caledonia [...] I found myself teaching writing at Geneseo in a kind of unconventional way after I had already had a eighteen year career in a public school at a secondary level. It was kind of a dream come true.”
Though the first instinct one may feel when going from teaching thirteen or fourteen-year-olds to young adults is shock, Professor D’Angelo found, “The transition to the college classroom was pretty seamless for me.” Not only was the approach to teaching writing in many ways similar (aside from moving to the use of the first person pronoun instead of a focus on analysis), but the connection between eighth grade and freshman year of college is more transparent than it may seem.
“I don’t remember feeling nervous. [...] What was interesting to me is that first year students at college are going through very similar things as middle school students about to go into high school, you know? They’re both transition years, even at different ages. I’ve found that many of these students have the same needs: help around decision-making, organization, time-management, making friends, so I’ve used my INTD 105 classes as a way to facilitate that [transitional] process. [...] So, professionally, I think it’s the challenge I’ve always wanted.”
In that same vein, Professor D’Angelo’s INTD 105 sections revolve around serious and topical subjects, mainly the treatment of marginalized groups both in the 20th century and today.
Upon facing the most formidable challenge of teaching a general education class, one that is generally comprised of students who are there because they have to be rather than that they want to be, Professor D’Angelo said, “It all comes down to engagement. I have a great deal of confidence in the course I put together. It may be drudgery at first, but the students become engaged in the conversation that takes place in the writing. And it is a conversation, you know, with the first-person pronoun, that causes the shift in the attitude of their writing. I don’t let [students being less interested] bother me, because I’m sure I can change their minds. They can see the growth in their writing, the growth in themselves as people with thoughts and beliefs and emotions around things that they read. [...] They have a place in their own writing, and there will always be a student who hates writing and hates the readings, yes, but I have confidence that the majority of my students will come out feeling better about writing.”
When speaking about how she would respond to those who have their qualms about INTD 105, Professor D’Angelo says, “For me, recognizing and understanding that the people who are teaching INTD 105 are people who have passion for what they are doing and are making a difference in students’ writing. [...] Creating that sense of belonging is something that INTD 105 is striving for.”
Next time you or someone you know has to enroll in INTD 105, Professor D’Angelo asks that you keep in mind how important the class is, whether you understand that right away or not: “What I want students to walk away from whatever seminar they take, is that writing is a conversation and you have a voice in that conversation. You have a legitimate voice in that conversation. You don’t have to be this removed, objective entity. You are a part of this community and the change that is taking place. You exercise that through INTD 105 and it will help you find your voice and confidence going forward in your college life and beyond.”