To me, literature is where growth begins. I’ve been reading for as long as I can remember, not just for school, but for comfort and curiosity. Books have helped me make sense of the world and understand people better. Teaching me to think deeply, feel fully, and ask better questions.
I believe the ability to read, connect with emotion, and understand others is a gift from God. The human mind was designed with the capacity to seek meaning, wrestle with complexity, and stay curious. Literature honors that design.
That same process, of seeking meaning, sitting with ideas, and letting them evolve is what makes certain classrooms feel transformative. It’s what I found in Dr. Jessica Lipsey’s class at Daytona State College.
“You come into the classroom knowing things,” she said. “You’re not just a blank slate that I’m going to tell everything to.”
Her philosophy, rooted in Carl Rogers’ theory of Person-Centered Learning, emphasizes trust, autonomy, and curiosity, giving students room to grow both academically and personally.
I’ve changed my mind about my major many times, torn between choosing something secure and something that fulfills me. Somewhere in the middle, I ended up in a classroom that helped me slow down, think differently, and reflect.
Lipsey builds her classes around conversation. Students learn from each other, and discussion becomes the starting point for growth. “It’s less about me dumping information into you guys,” she said, “and more about us learning things together as we go.”
That kind of openness made it easier to speak up. I’ve always had thoughts during class discussions, but I didn’t always feel confident sharing them. In her room, it didn’t feel like there was a right answer, just a space to think out loud and see what resonated.
“The classroom is a necessary space for students to share their ideas, because we don’t know if there could be truth to what they’re saying until it’s out in the room,” Lipsey said. “Just put your ideas out there, and let’s see if they stick or not. And if they don’t? We can still talk about them, because it’s fun to think about what in your experience brought you to that idea.”
She encourages her students to take risks and be confident. “If I notice that this many students are dominating the room, well then that’s when we go to group work,” she said. “Students are usually more willing to talk when there’s only four other people listening, instead of twenty-five.”
That kind of environment reminded me what learning is really about, and that’s engaging with your whole heart. The beautiful thing about human minds is their ability to think both critically and creatively. To analyze and imagine. To reason and reflect. That dual capacity is what literature fosters. And it’s what makes English more than academic.
But when you’re asked to think so deeply, it’s easy to become self-critical. Dr. Lipsey understands that. “My students are always so much harder on themselves than I would be on them,” she said. “So, I use positive reinforcement. With early assignments, I find the things you do well, and then from there I find things you might need to work on.”
That kind of support makes a difference. It’s easy to get caught up in doing everything “right,” especially in college, where every choice feels like it has long-term consequences. But in her class, it’s okay to slow down, rethink, and learn without rushing to prove yourself.
Some classrooms change how we think. Others change how we see ourselves. But the rare ones change the direction we thought we were going.
If I ever find myself teaching, I hope I carry even a fraction of what Dr. Lipsey brings to her students, because in a world that asks whether literature makes us nicer, she shows us how. As she put it, what matters most is, “A curiosity to keep learning, and to dig deeper through critical thinking. Don’t accept surface-level, not from people, news, literature, anything. Be open to other people’s ideas, maybe even question your own, and always stay open to learning.”