Linda Middleton is an assistant professor in the UH Manoa English department. Students in her English 100 and sophomore literature classes pose a constant challenge for Middleton. They often regard these classes as “required core” courses which they are being compelled to take. To overcome this, she brings a strong sense of commitment to the subject, her students and her teaching. Middleton’s primary concern is the enhancement of her student’s basic writing skills. Her students noted that one of Middleton’s strengths is her ability to listen and consider a variety of interpretations.

Middleton finds teaching 300-level courses especially fulfilling because her students are primarily English majors and she wants them to experience each other’s responses to literature. Middleton uses creative and innovative ways to promote literature—she used a Web site where students could log on and make connections between Beowulf and a movie they’d just seen. In addition, Middleton always encourages her students with her creative use of humor. As she observed, “wit is as difficult as good writing, and much of my wit surprises students because it sparks thought as well as humor.”