ROBERT DANIEL rubin
Teacher of Critical Thinking, Tutor for Writing Skills, Author on Civic Identity
ABOUT ME
I am a schoolteacher, tutor, and college instructor in English and history. I am also an author concerned with how people’s political identities and religious/secular worldviews inform one another. Groups’ perceptions of themselves as insiders and/or outsiders in American society and law spur my research and teaching.
TUTORING AND EDITING
(students sixth grade and older)
During this past year, I've seen more and more students relying on AI to “write” their essays for them. This becomes a trap. By not pushing themselves to learn to formulate their own arguments and use language effectively, they deprive themselves of skills they will need to gain entry to the college of their choice and to flourish in the professional world. Students pay a price for not learning to write well. Taking the easy way out shuts doors and forecloses possibilities.
As a tutor in language arts, I help learners (sixth grade and older) open doors to academic and professional success. My students learn to read essays and stories critically and use language more effectively. They review the fundamentals of rhetoric. They study texts in their historical context. They sharpen their ability to write persuasive essays, gaining ease and comfort in a process that sometimes seems overwhelming. Many come to enjoy essay writing in a new way by experiencing it as participation in an ongoing conversation. We all want others to listen to us and take us seriously, and writing effectively allows that to happen.
Together, a client and I move at whatever pace best suits them. Whether they seek to hone their already sharp writing skills or overcome their fear and resistance to writing, they will make satisfying progress from our work together.
CIVIC AND RELIGIOUS IDENTITY
I have laid groundwork for my next project, which will explore how meditation and prayer affect the ways in which individuals conduct themselves in the civic sphere and understand themselves as political partisans. I will consider if and how spiritual activities open spaces in which people whose belief systems are at odds with one another's can tentatively transcend their impasses.
CONTESTING IDENTITY IN THE Courts
The John Archibald Campbell Courthouse in Mobile, Alabama, home to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama and site for a good amount of my research.
Much of my writing, speaking, and teaching of adult audiences has focused on the definitions of democracy and justice espoused by self-identified Americans of faith. More generally, I have explored how religious conservatives in the second half of the twentieth century used or resisted the United States judicial system.
CONTACT ME:
Curriculum vitae and résumé available on request.