Shaping Language
by Mariya Miksonova
“I give my students Play-doh because I want them to return to the joys of craft, of shaping matter into form. I want them to play with words like a fistful of dough.” Professor Cynthia Baer aspires to break her students out of the mold of heavily-standardized academic English by fostering their unique writing styles, and allowing them to see components of the English language “as a set of tools, not rules.”
Regarding her recent Outstanding Lecturer of the Year award, Baer states that she is extremely grateful for the faith placed in her by her colleagues, and by Lisa Vollendorf in particular. In terms of work, Baer believes that out of the five-year dossier she submitted, it was her work on Stretch English that allowed her to stand out. Stretch English is a recent program that expands the semester-long freshman English course into a yearlong course, allowing for more focused teaching. Given Baer’s incredible attention to detail in the English language, it comes as no surprise that she stood out in this particular area. On her nomination for the award by Vollendorf, Baer says, “It is an honor to be recognized by an educator of her caliber and commitment.”
Cynthia Baer entered San José State as a freshman in 1977, eventually beginning her career here at the age of 22 as a teaching assistant in English 1A. Today, she is at the rank of Assistant Professor, and still going strong. She feels a deep connection to San José State, and its example to Baer in her student years inspires her to do nothing short of her best: “If I am outstanding, it is because SJSU has made me so…this year as I watch my Stretch students stretch their way into college writing, I am grateful to be able to foster their dreams as so many of my SJSU professors and mentors helped to foster mine.” The College of Humanities and the Arts is proud to have Dr. Baer on the faculty and to welcome her into her new role as an Assistant Professor with the title of Assistant Writing Programs Administrator and Stretch English Coordinator effective fall 2015.
