First: this blog went over 59,000 page views a couple of days ago. I am always amazed by the number of people who find this site. My guess is that many of those readers discovered the site because someone else mentioned it to them. As always -- thanks a million (and a half) to everyone for passing along the information to anyone who is interested in teaching and anyone who is interested in thinking about how to get better as a teacher.
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I have made the point previously that I believe a college education would be more valued (rather than being under a full scale attack as it currently is) if more faculty members worked as mentors for the students rather than just teachers. Several of my blog entries this summer have talked about going beyond the conveyance of information to a relationship where you help the students grow as people (my story about best books and attending the opera, for example).
Consequently, here is an email that I sent out today to my 73 accounting students for the fall (yeah, accounting students -- not political science students). To paraphrase the late great singer Ricky Nelson, if all I did was teach accounting concepts to college students, I'd just as soon drive a truck.
To: Accounting 302 Students
From: JH
I had figured that I would not send out any more emails to you before class starts. I’m always concerned that I will overwhelm you before you even meet me. However, I was reminded of something this morning that I did think was worth mentioning (and I do realize that this will not apply to everyone in my classes).
My younger daughter (age 19) is getting ready to go off to college this fall for the first time. This morning she mailed in her application to get an absentee ballot so that she will be able to vote in the election this November. I was very proud of her for wanting to cast her first ballot (and for thinking ahead to get the absentee ballot before she left the area).
If you are eligible to vote in the upcoming election, I think you should strongly consider doing so. Freedom works best when people vote for their leaders.
I honestly don’t care which party you vote for or which candidate you support. However, I think every citizen should study the issues (not just listen to the opinions of others but actually study the issues) and vote for the person or party that you believe will serve the country best. I believe that is your duty as part of your transition from being a child to being an adult. I first voted in 1972 (I just missed being old enough to vote in 1968) and I’m proud to say that I have voted in every presidential election since that time. I’ve always had an opinion and I always wanted to vote to support my opinion.
I do not know how you get an absentee ballot in your state but I would bet that you can go to www.google.com and find out very quickly. If you have not done this yet, I would urge you to get on the ball and get it done.
Look forward to seeing you in about 9 days.
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Monday, August 13, 2012
The Future Is Now?
Not long ago, I friend of mine who teaches English here at the University of Richmond asked me “is it possible that we are all in the buggy whip business and we don’t even know it?”
In other words, has education changed so quickly and so dramatically that many of us are going to get left behind? (or, have already been left behind?)
It is easy to dismiss that idea (because we want to dismiss that idea). Of course, the times are changing. Everyone can obviously see in the newspapers, television, and Internet that the world of education is evolving. But there will always be room in this world for the kind of college teaching that you and I do. The core of a college education has not really changed much since I was a freshman in 1966. Some version of that model will surely continue on forever. Surely it is sustainable? Surely?
Or maybe not.
A friend of mine here at Richmond sent me a link to two videos at www.epic2020.org. I only watched the first one (I’m in the middle of preparing to do some teaching today and the second one seems similar). But the first one alone presented a rather unbelievable (but fascinating) vision of the near term future of college education: A lot more people being taught a lot more cheaply (and possible taught a lot better).
I personally don’t think the future will roll out like this (especially not so quickly). I just think the actual learning process is more complex than the one portrayed here. But I have always said “any area of the world where there is both a lot of money and a lot of technology will draw in a lot of smart people who want to invent new ways to do things (and get that money).” So, I believe, there will be change and there will be a lot of it. And it will be soon.
For a number of years now, I have been asking the following question at teaching presentations that I make: "What would happen at your university if Google announced tomorrow that it had hired the entire faculty from Harvard and it was going to start providing a Harvard-level education for an infinite number of people for a flat $10,000 per year? And, given the amount of money that would bring in, why wouldn't Google do that?"
The best answer that I ever got to that question of what would happen was: "The president of our school would break down and cry."
Watch that first video and tell me what you think.
Friday, July 27, 2012
WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER BEST ABOUT LAST SEMESTER?
Several weeks ago, I wrote a blog entry describing my discussion each semester with my juniors about the best book that they have ever read. In the blog, I explained that I thought education needed to be more than just conveying material. It also needs to be about helping students to broaden their horizons and become better rounded members of our society. If we are just going to teach stuff, computers can probably do that better than we can.
I got quite a number of emails about that post – most were positive although some were a bit mystified as to why I would do that in an accounting class. Heck, I would do that in any class.
So, okay, let’s take this thought a step further. What is your favorite class memory of the spring semester? I assume virtually everyone who reads this post is a teacher. What is your favorite teaching memory from the spring? (If you don’t have one, you probably need to make some serious changes.)
One of my favorite memories is of a photograph (now taped to my wall) taken with a camera phone of 8 freshmen students at the University of Richmond who are standing in front of the stage of the Virginia Opera waving at me. Why are they there? Why are they waving at me – their accounting teacher?
Although most of my students are juniors, I do teach an Introduction to Financial Accounting class which will often have freshmen. Last spring, I got an email from a friend who had some free tickets for a performance of the Virginia Opera and wanted to know if any of my students would like to go.
If I had sent out a note to my students about free opera tickets, on a school night no less, the silence would have been deafening—probably only broken by the sound of sarcastic remarks.
Most freshmen in college have never experienced an opera. The tickets were free. I wanted some of them to go. So, I wrote an email to the introductory class and explained that I had these tickets and would gladly give them out. And, I would add two points to the grade on their second test for any student who went. I give three tests each semester and a final exam so two points on one hourly exam has virtually no impact on a student’s overall grade. But, it is a tangible reward. No matter how small, students feel like they are being paid to go.
Believe it or not, a total of 13 out of my 30 students asked for tickets and went to the opera that night. Many of them came back the next day to tell me about the experience. I have not been to many operas (but I’ve seen enough to have a favorite - Tosca). However, I could, at least, talk about the opera a little.
Is accounting where we should teach opera? That’s a ridiculous question. But I do not believe that any class should be limited to teaching just material. Computers can do that. Classes should also be about helping people learn how to live and experience.
And one serious key to achieving that goal is to offer a reward. Even if the reward is terribly small, it seems to jump start the students. And, that’s what I wanted.
Let me give you a second example that has worked for me for years. I teach juniors in Intermediate Accounting II. That course is terribly hard and very challenging. For many years, I have offered those students five bonus points on their final exam (a bit more reward than for the opera but still not much) to go out and do things in Richmond. If a college is in a city, I believe students should take advantage of that opportunity. Over the years, I estimate that 95 percent of the students in that class have taken advantage of the offer and gotten all five points. They’ve left campus and done something interesting – for a mere five bonus points on the final exam.
What do they have to do to get those five points? Here is what I tell them (highly edited):
“It is always sad for me to see students live here for four years and miss out on some of the most interesting aspects of the area. Your college experience should be about more than campus (and off-campus bars). Therefore, to encourage you to get out and about, I will add one point to your final examination grade for each of the following activities that you do between now and the date of the final exam. However, I’m only willing to give you up to five extra points. Here is a list of what you can do to add points:
"---Visit Maymont Park and walk down to the Japanese Gardens. Walk around the pond. If it is turned on, stand under the waterfall (well, make sure it is summer for that). Truly one of the most beautiful and serene places in all of Richmond.
---Go to the Westhampton Theatre near campus and see a good movie. After you go to the big modern theatres, it is hard to believe that a movie theatre could have real antiques in the lobby. Plus, it has the most intellectual movies in town (by far). If you’ve never seen a great foreign movie, here’s the place to start.
---Visit the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Check out the Faberge Eggs and the 19th century Impressionist. Always neat to see a real Van Gogh or Renoir. They have a wonderful collection of American art as well as art of India and you can also see a statue of Caligula from about 2,000 years ago. Amuse is the restaurant there (third floor) and it is quite nice – excellent place to take your parents and impress them with your savoir faire.
---Visit Agecroft Hall. This is a 500 year old manor house that was taken apart in England piece by piece and rebuilt on the banks of the James River by a tobacco millionaire about 80 years ago.
---See a movie at the Byrd Theatre, especially when they are scheduled to play the mighty Wurlitzer. The movies are nowhere near as interesting as those at the Westhampton but the experience is marvelous. You feel like Al Capone is probably sitting nearby in the audience.
---Go to St. John’s Church on Church Hill and see a reenactment of Patrick Henry’s call for liberty speech. I never have enough students do this one. It is a genuine touch of US history.
---See a play put on by Richmond Shakespeare. There is something about seeing a few people put on an entire Shakespeare play that is great. Or, if you are really adventuresome, drive 90 minutes up into the mountains to Staunton and see a play at the American Shakespeare Theatre. The plays and the theatre there are fabulous.
---Go to the Poe Museum and learn about one of Richmond’s favorite sons. Yeah, I know he is buried in Baltimore but he spent most of his life wandering the streets of Richmond.
---Have a sub at the best deli in Richmond (and possibly the world). It is Bernie’s on Forest Avenue. Where else can you go where you are absolutely the only person in the room who has not already eaten there 1,000 times?
---Cross the Huguenot Bridge and take River Road toward town for a mile until you get to the Pony Pasture. Park your car in the lot and climb out onto the rocks of the James River. “Peaceful” doesn’t even begin to describe the experience.
---Go to the Virginia Historical Society and visit their exhibits. Richmond is nothing if it is not about history.
---Go downtown and visit the Museum of the Confederacy and the White House of the Confederacy. How could you stay in Richmond for four years and not do that?
---Head over toward the Richmond Airport and visit the Richmond Aviation Museum. It is not the Smithsonian but they do have a nice group of fascinating planes.
---Check out Hollywood Cemetery. Yes, visit a cemetery – it is one of the loveliest and most interesting places in Richmond. If the office is open, get a map to locate all the famous dead people. Park your car and just stroll around. It’s a place where you really need to walk. Take a date, walk around, hold hands, watch for ghosts, look at the statues.
---Go over to Willow Lawn Shopping Center – go around to the back and there is the Barksdale Theatre. Live theatre is always fun and at the Barksdale, you are only five rows or less from the stage.
---Go to the Science Museum and wander through their exhibits or watch a movie in the Imax Theater. Okay, a lot of places have Imax but the Science Museum is built in the old Richmond train station and when you walk in the front door, it has the feel of Grand Central Station.
---Drive a few miles south of Richmond and visit Berkeley Plantation, supposedly the home of the first official Thanksgiving.
---Go to the Carpenter Theatre at Center Stage and see an opera by the Virginia Opera. This fall they are doing The Pearl Fishers and Die Fiedermaus. Yeah, I know you are an accounting major and couldn’t possibly appreciate opera but that’s what I thought when I was your age and now I wonder how I could have been so ignorant. How do you know if you never try? Don’t take too much pride in being a hillbilly.
---Drive to Petersburg and see The Crater. If you read the book or saw the movie “Cold Mountain,” you know that the Northern army tried to blow up a huge part of the Southern Army by tunneling up under their line and setting off a gigantic store of dynamite. Well, the hole (actually 1/3 of the hole) is still there. It is just a hole but it has been there for nearly 150 years and it really gives you a genuine feel for the Civil War.
---On 14th Street downtown, you can take a boat ride through some of the canals built hundreds of years ago to get cargo around the rocks in the James River. This is a really fun thing to do on a nice afternoon. Your parents would love it. When you finish, enjoy the Canal Walk.
---Spend an afternoon in Williamsburg (or Jamestown or Yorktown) and finish with dinner in one of the taverns (try the King’s Arms if you can get in – they all require reservations well in advance).
---Take a walk through Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. Most of the year, it is filled with hundreds of thousands of flowering plants.
---Visit the Monumental Church. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall raised the funds to build the church after a horrific fire on December 26, 1811. The fire killed 72 people, including the governor of Virginia. The bodies were burned so terribly that they are all buried together. John Marshall raised the funds and had the church completed by 1814.
---A short bike ride from campus is the Wilton House Museum, a James River Plantation house. Built around 1753, it was the centerpiece of a 2,000 acre tobacco plantation. It was here that the family entertained George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and the Marquis de Lafayette.
---Visit the Richmond zoo. Okay, it is a bit of a drive and it is in the middle of nowhere but how often do you get to see a white tiger or feed a giraffe.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Starting to Reprogram Your Students - Part Two
A few weeks ago, I wrote about sending out an initial email to start reprogramming my students to be the type of students that I wanted them to be. Below is the second step in this process. It is my second email to the students for the fall semester. I emailed this note to my students this morning.
To: Accounting 302 Students
From: JH
Okay, I’m sending out a bunch of material to you folks occasionally over the course of the summer. You already have the course outline and I assume you have looked over that pretty carefully by now.
Attached is something entirely different. Everyone knows this class is challenging and that making an A takes an excellent effort. I want to help you understand (before we get started) what you need to do in order to do well in this course. So, every semester, I ask the 11 – 25 percent of the students who make an A to write a paragraph or two to explain how they managed to do so well. I cut and paste all the student responses into a single document and it is attached to this email. I firmly believe that these words can serve as a road map to help you understand how to do well in my class. I hope you’ll read and think about what they have to say. Success is not a secret.
From my experience, everyone seems to enjoy a good sports story. In sports, winning and losing is always more apparent so it is easier to see what leads to some people winning while others lose. So, here’s a sports story for you (and, unfortunately, I don’t recall the details exactly but close enough for the point I want to make).
I was watching ESPN a few years back and the announcers were talking with a retired pro basketball coach about a championship team that he had coached a few years before that date. Apparently, his team got locked into a real battle in the final playoff series. The announcers asked the coach when he knew that his team was going to win the championship. His response went something like this:
“In one of the key games, we were behind by a point with just a few seconds to play. I called timeout to set up our last shot. It was a shot that would lead to either a victory or defeat in that game and possibly for the entire series. As soon as I called timeout, all five players on the court came running to the bench yelling ‘give me the ball and let me take the last shot; I can make it.’ A lot of times when you get to a truly critical moment, no one wants to make eye contact with you. Players start staring around or looking into the stands because they don’t want to take the risk of missing that final shot. When all five players on my team were begging me to take that last shot, I knew I had a team of winners and that we would win. And we did.”
Everyone knows that I ask scores of questions in my class. That is surely no secret. Rapid fire questions based on the homework assignments. When I get to the tough areas, it is amazing how often students begin to stare at their papers or look at the ceiling. They become deeply engrossed in checking their calculators – anything other than making direct eye contact with me.
Here’s my one piece of fatherly advice. On the attached sheet of student advice, the first student says “I wanted to be called on for every question.” That is exactly what I want from you. I want you to be so well prepared each and every day that you literally sit there and pray to get called on for every single question. I cannot promise you that this attitude will get you an A but I do promise you that it will make you the kind of student who succeeds.
Okay, then the obvious question is: How do you get to where you want to be called on for every question? The second student on the attached list says “If you prepare for the class like you would for a quiz/test, then you will be successful.” Virtually all students under prepare for class. That is a given; that is nearly 100 percent. The reason is that humans don’t have much self-discipline. They don’t do real work unless they see the urgency. They prepare just enough to get by. And, then they wonder why they are just able to get by. If you want to succeed, there has to be a genuine sense of urgency (not panic or dread but urgency) in your preparation. To do that, you need to prepare each day like you expected to have a tough quiz when you walked in to class. If you can be ready for a quiz each day even though there is no quiz, you will be the student that I want in my class no matter what your grade turns out to be. You will be ready to become the kind of student that you are capable of becoming.
I know this all sounds a bit frightening but it really is a great class that you will enjoy.
Hope you are enjoying your summer. Work hard but make sure to take time to see life outside of work.
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Starting to Reprogram Your Students
Before I start today, I want to wish everyone in the US a very happy July 4. Politically, we all tend to fuss and fight way too much but I think we can all agree that we are so incredibly lucky to live in a country where we can celebrate our freedom, liberty, and independence. For that reason, every day around here should be July 4.
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If you have ever been at one of my teaching presentations, you know that a main theme (obsession) of mine is that you have to reprogram your students to do what you want them to do. They have already been in school for many years and most have picked up sloppy habits and poor attitudes. Students are very much a product of the educational system; they are very well-trained, but often trained to be bad students. I believe it is the teacher’s job to start the reprograming process as quickly as possible.
For example, my first class in the fall is on August 27. I sent my students an email back in April suggesting some things they could do over the summer to make themselves smarter and better ready for this class in the fall. I also told them that I would be sending out emails over the summer and I expected them to be read. Luckily, I have a reputation at my school of “he means what he says so you better pay attention.” (Having the reputation you want is another incredibly important element of teaching.) I doubt the students jumped too quickly to do what I asked of them but I was really just starting the reprogramming process.
Yesterday, I sent another email to my students. This time it was the course outline giving the dates (and weights) of the tests, the textbook (Hoyle and Skender – of course), my rules, and other vital information. I told the students that I wanted them to read that outline and know how the class was set up before they arrived at the first session. I want them heading in the right direction before I even see them for the first time.
At the end of yesterday's email, I said something like “I want more A’s in the fall. You are all capable of making an A but you have to become efficient at the learning process. I have taught for a long-time. I have seen a lot of students do this class well. I have seen a lot of students do this class poorly. I think I know what it takes to do the class well. And, I want YOU to do it well.”
I am trying to get their attention before they become overwhelmed by the fall semester. I want my students to know that there is work to be done but they are capable and I actually want to give better grades.
I then gave them a list of advice on how to do well in my class. This is obviously the next step in the reprograming process. I know they will not follow all of this but if they just pay close attention to a couple of these things, they will do better. If some of this advice knocks around in their heads for the next two months, they will be moving toward being better students.
Here was the advice on the course outline that I have now given to my Financial Accounting students for the fall of 2012.
- Here is my number one piece of advice: the students who learn how to answer the questions correctly when called on in class are better able to answer the questions on the test. It seems so obvious—class is simply teaching you how to think about and answer questions and then the tests ask you related questions to see what you’ve learned. Too many students tend to think “I won’t really try to figure out the answers to the questions before I come to class. Instead, I’ll listen to the answers and memorize them.” That is not learning to answer questions—that is learning to repeat answers that someone else has figured out for you. If you want to do well in this class, walk into class every day with a pretty good idea as to what the answers are.
- A lot of my students like to gather in the Atrium outside of our room about 30-45 minutes before class to discuss the assignments. Then, they walk into class ready to go to work. I think that is a great idea and would strongly encourage that. However, you really need to use that time to talk about the upcoming class and not about beer and pizza. And, do me a personal favor. If you are working with a group in the Atrium and you see a student from class, invite them to join you. Some students want to be part of the group but are shy. You are in this together – in my experience, the best classes are the ones that become a genuine group. Everyone you invite to join will add strength to the group.
- Be consistently good. If you are well prepared one day but weak the next, you wind up with holes in your knowledge and that leads to problems in learning. If students have one general weakness, it is the tendency to try hard on an irregular basis and then wonder why they don’t do well. A championship football or baseball team does NOT play well every other game. Instead, the real winners are prepared for every game and play well every time. Class is three times per week; you should really try to be good three times per week.
- One strong suggestion would be to take the class seriously from Day One. A lot of students don’t get their brains into gear until the 15th class but by then they have serious problems. If you get behind, catching up is tough. That’s like running the 100 yard dash and giving your competition a 40 yard head start.
- Be observant in class and try to figure out who really knows what is going on. Then, take them aside after a couple of weeks and ask them “you really seem to have good answers in class, how do you do it?” You can learn more about the process from good students than you can ever learn from a faculty member.
- Get excited about learning. The only people who benefit from this class are you, the students. If learning is not exciting to you, then you should change courses or get out of school (yeah, get out of school -- if learning is not fun, you shouldn't be here). Making your mind better should be great fun - an experience that you cherish and value, one that will aid you for the rest of your life. It's the only brain you've got and it has to carry you through life - fill it up and it will serve you well. (Students sometimes complain about boring teachers – you should walk into class sometime and look out at 25 boring students. Now that is a horror. Don’t you be a boring student—get excited about learning.)
- Talk to the people who have been in my classes before (they are all over campus; they are easy to find) and ask them what the secret to success really is. If you can find a person who made an A in one of my classes, that person knows the key. Get them to share it with you.
- Realize that everything we cover in this introductory class (every single thing) is already known to virtually every business person in the real world. Nothing we do here is busy work; in an introductory class, I just want you to come up to the knowledge level of the average business person on the street so you won't be "the dumb one." If you want to know more than the average business person, take Intermediate Accounting – it is a wonderful course. But remember that if you don’t learn something in this class, when you enter the business world, you start with a real disadvantage – everyone else knows more than you do and that is not a good idea on the path to success.
- Forget shortcuts. They only work in high school. Plan to spend roughly 2 hours of study between each class. I don't mean 6 hours on Monday night or 12 hours right before a test; I mean about 2 legitimate hours between every class. When students do poorly in this class, it is almost always caused by a failure to put in the time on a consistent basis. I have a formula for getting good grades that I believe is true: HOURS EQUAL POINTS. I wish there was a magic pill that I could give you that would allow you to learn a lot without doing any work but I've just never found that magic pill. There are no steroids for the brain – there is only hard work. Spend 70 percent of your study time preparing for the upcoming class. Spend the other 30 percent reviewing the previous class and making sure you have the knowledge organized in your brain before you get too far away from it.
- Realize that I have high expectations for you and I will push you. My class is not necessarily like other classes. Don’t be rigid. Be willing and able to adapt. That is good advice in the real world and good advice in my class. That is one of the great things about people your age: you are willing to adapt. Students who tell me “well, my strategy for class worked well for me when I was in the 6th grade” simply are never going to be the next Steve Jobs or Bill Gates. A sign at the Jimmy Johns deli up the street says: “If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you have a boss.” Not a bad thing to keep in mind when I am pushing you along.
- Read each chapter one time but not more than once. Read one page at a time and write down (in one or two sentences) the basic idea of that page. For the illustrations, be sure to walk through the numbers and see where each one comes from. That takes time but time is just going to be necessary. If you don't understand something clearly at first, don't assume that (a) you are stupid or (b) it is stupid. Work to figure it out. If it were easy, we wouldn't cover it in college. In all honesty, the “figuring it out” part is all the fun.
- The attitude that you bring to this class (or that you bring to life, for that matter) is a truly important ingredient in your success. Play a mental game with yourself. Don't start out assuming that the class will be a pain or that you will do poorly. Instead, assume that you are really looking forward to adding this knowledge to your brain and that you are going to do the work and actually enjoy the learning and that because you do the work, you are going to make an A. Much of success and happiness is just getting into the right mindset.
- Never miss class. I make sure each class covers what I want (and expect) you to learn. Missing class is like losing the road map. Almost no one does well who misses many classes.
- Come by my office early and often and ask questions (or send me an e-mail). I can frequently resolve your problems or confusions in just a few seconds where you may waste hours trying to figure out a problem for yourself. Make good use of my office hours - I am here for your benefit. Even if I seem busy, I do not mind working with you at all. One of the things I have noted over the years: the A and B students come by often whereas the D and F students come by hardly at all (wouldn’t you expect it to be the other way around?)
- Realize that I do want you to do well. I want you to learn the material so that you can go out in the real world and compete with the sharks. Thus, if I beat on you, it is only because I want you to work hard and learn something of value.
- Don't build up excuses: "I'm not good at numbers." "I don't do well in hard classes." "I don't understand business." You are simply giving yourself permission to get a poor grade. Once you have permission, it becomes acceptable to you. I don't know of any talent or skill (other than hard work) that is really necessary for this class.
- Don't assume that because you have a certain average in school that you will maintain that in this class. Some students who have high GPAs just assume that they will get a good grade in this course. Likewise, some students believe, because they have low GPAs, that they are destined for C's. If you will put out the energy, everyone can get an A. Everyone!!!!
**
If you have ever been at one of my teaching presentations, you know that a main theme (obsession) of mine is that you have to reprogram your students to do what you want them to do. They have already been in school for many years and most have picked up sloppy habits and poor attitudes. Students are very much a product of the educational system; they are very well-trained, but often trained to be bad students. I believe it is the teacher’s job to start the reprograming process as quickly as possible.
For example, my first class in the fall is on August 27. I sent my students an email back in April suggesting some things they could do over the summer to make themselves smarter and better ready for this class in the fall. I also told them that I would be sending out emails over the summer and I expected them to be read. Luckily, I have a reputation at my school of “he means what he says so you better pay attention.” (Having the reputation you want is another incredibly important element of teaching.) I doubt the students jumped too quickly to do what I asked of them but I was really just starting the reprogramming process.
Yesterday, I sent another email to my students. This time it was the course outline giving the dates (and weights) of the tests, the textbook (Hoyle and Skender – of course), my rules, and other vital information. I told the students that I wanted them to read that outline and know how the class was set up before they arrived at the first session. I want them heading in the right direction before I even see them for the first time.
At the end of yesterday's email, I said something like “I want more A’s in the fall. You are all capable of making an A but you have to become efficient at the learning process. I have taught for a long-time. I have seen a lot of students do this class well. I have seen a lot of students do this class poorly. I think I know what it takes to do the class well. And, I want YOU to do it well.”
I am trying to get their attention before they become overwhelmed by the fall semester. I want my students to know that there is work to be done but they are capable and I actually want to give better grades.
I then gave them a list of advice on how to do well in my class. This is obviously the next step in the reprograming process. I know they will not follow all of this but if they just pay close attention to a couple of these things, they will do better. If some of this advice knocks around in their heads for the next two months, they will be moving toward being better students.
Here was the advice on the course outline that I have now given to my Financial Accounting students for the fall of 2012.
- Here is my number one piece of advice: the students who learn how to answer the questions correctly when called on in class are better able to answer the questions on the test. It seems so obvious—class is simply teaching you how to think about and answer questions and then the tests ask you related questions to see what you’ve learned. Too many students tend to think “I won’t really try to figure out the answers to the questions before I come to class. Instead, I’ll listen to the answers and memorize them.” That is not learning to answer questions—that is learning to repeat answers that someone else has figured out for you. If you want to do well in this class, walk into class every day with a pretty good idea as to what the answers are.
- A lot of my students like to gather in the Atrium outside of our room about 30-45 minutes before class to discuss the assignments. Then, they walk into class ready to go to work. I think that is a great idea and would strongly encourage that. However, you really need to use that time to talk about the upcoming class and not about beer and pizza. And, do me a personal favor. If you are working with a group in the Atrium and you see a student from class, invite them to join you. Some students want to be part of the group but are shy. You are in this together – in my experience, the best classes are the ones that become a genuine group. Everyone you invite to join will add strength to the group.
- Be consistently good. If you are well prepared one day but weak the next, you wind up with holes in your knowledge and that leads to problems in learning. If students have one general weakness, it is the tendency to try hard on an irregular basis and then wonder why they don’t do well. A championship football or baseball team does NOT play well every other game. Instead, the real winners are prepared for every game and play well every time. Class is three times per week; you should really try to be good three times per week.
- One strong suggestion would be to take the class seriously from Day One. A lot of students don’t get their brains into gear until the 15th class but by then they have serious problems. If you get behind, catching up is tough. That’s like running the 100 yard dash and giving your competition a 40 yard head start.
- Be observant in class and try to figure out who really knows what is going on. Then, take them aside after a couple of weeks and ask them “you really seem to have good answers in class, how do you do it?” You can learn more about the process from good students than you can ever learn from a faculty member.
- Get excited about learning. The only people who benefit from this class are you, the students. If learning is not exciting to you, then you should change courses or get out of school (yeah, get out of school -- if learning is not fun, you shouldn't be here). Making your mind better should be great fun - an experience that you cherish and value, one that will aid you for the rest of your life. It's the only brain you've got and it has to carry you through life - fill it up and it will serve you well. (Students sometimes complain about boring teachers – you should walk into class sometime and look out at 25 boring students. Now that is a horror. Don’t you be a boring student—get excited about learning.)
- Talk to the people who have been in my classes before (they are all over campus; they are easy to find) and ask them what the secret to success really is. If you can find a person who made an A in one of my classes, that person knows the key. Get them to share it with you.
- Realize that everything we cover in this introductory class (every single thing) is already known to virtually every business person in the real world. Nothing we do here is busy work; in an introductory class, I just want you to come up to the knowledge level of the average business person on the street so you won't be "the dumb one." If you want to know more than the average business person, take Intermediate Accounting – it is a wonderful course. But remember that if you don’t learn something in this class, when you enter the business world, you start with a real disadvantage – everyone else knows more than you do and that is not a good idea on the path to success.
- Forget shortcuts. They only work in high school. Plan to spend roughly 2 hours of study between each class. I don't mean 6 hours on Monday night or 12 hours right before a test; I mean about 2 legitimate hours between every class. When students do poorly in this class, it is almost always caused by a failure to put in the time on a consistent basis. I have a formula for getting good grades that I believe is true: HOURS EQUAL POINTS. I wish there was a magic pill that I could give you that would allow you to learn a lot without doing any work but I've just never found that magic pill. There are no steroids for the brain – there is only hard work. Spend 70 percent of your study time preparing for the upcoming class. Spend the other 30 percent reviewing the previous class and making sure you have the knowledge organized in your brain before you get too far away from it.
- Realize that I have high expectations for you and I will push you. My class is not necessarily like other classes. Don’t be rigid. Be willing and able to adapt. That is good advice in the real world and good advice in my class. That is one of the great things about people your age: you are willing to adapt. Students who tell me “well, my strategy for class worked well for me when I was in the 6th grade” simply are never going to be the next Steve Jobs or Bill Gates. A sign at the Jimmy Johns deli up the street says: “If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you have a boss.” Not a bad thing to keep in mind when I am pushing you along.
- Read each chapter one time but not more than once. Read one page at a time and write down (in one or two sentences) the basic idea of that page. For the illustrations, be sure to walk through the numbers and see where each one comes from. That takes time but time is just going to be necessary. If you don't understand something clearly at first, don't assume that (a) you are stupid or (b) it is stupid. Work to figure it out. If it were easy, we wouldn't cover it in college. In all honesty, the “figuring it out” part is all the fun.
- The attitude that you bring to this class (or that you bring to life, for that matter) is a truly important ingredient in your success. Play a mental game with yourself. Don't start out assuming that the class will be a pain or that you will do poorly. Instead, assume that you are really looking forward to adding this knowledge to your brain and that you are going to do the work and actually enjoy the learning and that because you do the work, you are going to make an A. Much of success and happiness is just getting into the right mindset.
- Never miss class. I make sure each class covers what I want (and expect) you to learn. Missing class is like losing the road map. Almost no one does well who misses many classes.
- Come by my office early and often and ask questions (or send me an e-mail). I can frequently resolve your problems or confusions in just a few seconds where you may waste hours trying to figure out a problem for yourself. Make good use of my office hours - I am here for your benefit. Even if I seem busy, I do not mind working with you at all. One of the things I have noted over the years: the A and B students come by often whereas the D and F students come by hardly at all (wouldn’t you expect it to be the other way around?)
- Realize that I do want you to do well. I want you to learn the material so that you can go out in the real world and compete with the sharks. Thus, if I beat on you, it is only because I want you to work hard and learn something of value.
- Don't build up excuses: "I'm not good at numbers." "I don't do well in hard classes." "I don't understand business." You are simply giving yourself permission to get a poor grade. Once you have permission, it becomes acceptable to you. I don't know of any talent or skill (other than hard work) that is really necessary for this class.
- Don't assume that because you have a certain average in school that you will maintain that in this class. Some students who have high GPAs just assume that they will get a good grade in this course. Likewise, some students believe, because they have low GPAs, that they are destined for C's. If you will put out the energy, everyone can get an A. Everyone!!!!
Saturday, June 23, 2012
What Is the Best Book You Ever Read?
If you have read this blog for very long, you know that I often argue that college teachers have become obsessed with teaching stuff and less interested in developing the student as a whole person. Should we care if a student becomes a brilliant scholar but then leads a miserable life because he or she simply doesn’t know how to live? Well, I think so.
I could give several examples of what I do in my classes beyond teaching stuff but here is one of my favorites. My primary course is Intermediate Accounting II which covers some of the most complex material at any university. For nearly 20 years, about half way through the semester, I give my students a required assignment. I ask them to consider all the books they have ever read in their entire lives and pick the “best book you’ve ever read.” Then, they have to write a paragraph or two to describe why they picked that book. Over the years, I have had some of the most fascinating essays submitted.
Obviously, I want the students to think about how reading has impacted their lives. I think that thought process is good for them. I think an accounting teacher can ask students to think beyond accounting.
I then accumulate all the books the current class listed as well as all the books that all of the previous classes have listed and pass out that information (see the latest version below). At that time, I challenge the students to pick out a book from that list and read it. I challenge them to consider what books their fellow students have picked as their all-time best and find one they want to read.
Over the decades, I would bet that I have had more former students get back in touch with me to talk about their best books than I have former students talk with me about accounting complexities. And, the reason seems obvious: They realize that I am interested in more than just accounting computations. They don’t look at me solely as an accounting nerd who thinks doing deferred income taxes is the height of fun.
Does this exercise take much time? Of course not, the student probably spends no more than 20-30 minutes but it sets a tone for the class that I want: Accounting is important but there are other things that an educated person should consider. One of those “things” is an appreciation for good literature.
I honestly believe that all of college education would be radically improved if every single teacher did one such exercise each semester totally and completely outside of his or her discipline. What could you do? If you teach political science or psychology or zoology or literature or finance or accounting, what could you do that would get away from teaching nothing but stuff and be more directed toward the development of the whole person?
I know what you teach is important but how could you go beyond that to touch on helping your students develop as educated human begins?
Here’s the latest list that I sent out to my students from the spring of 2012:
To: Accounting 302 Students
BEST BOOKS – I certainly enjoyed reading about your “best books” (although many of you referred to these as your “favorite books” which is a bit different – I think). Actually, I found what you had to say about the books to be every bit as fascinating as the list of books itself. I always think it is interesting to ponder how the reading of one particular book can touch a person’s life so deeply. Read more books and you’ll be touched more. Books simply open life up to you. At your age, having life open up to you is a great goal. Choose books wisely – frequently, I search through lists on the Internet titled something like “The Best Books of 2012” to find books that will make me better. If you want to accomplish much in this life of yours, you have to continue to grow. I worry that too many of my students are just dying to stop growing. That is not the key to success at anything. Or, they just want to think about things too narrowly (“I’m not interested in anything besides getting a job and going to parties.”) There’s a lot of life out there – don’t narrow it down until you are 99 years old.
I jotted down a few things that I happened to notice as I was reading through all of your comments. With so many essays, I didn’t have time and space to write quotes from each one. Everyone had things that I found thoughtful; these were just a few things that happened to catch my eye. Who could read such wonderful comments and not get excited about reading?
---“I have never read another book that confused me more from the beginning. It was a mystery that unraveled itself as I read.” (The Count of Monte Cristo)
---“I remember being able to vividly visualize each character. It was as if I was in the story as just a bystander watching the entire story unfold before me.” (The Great Gatsby)
---“Things that are off the beaten path draw me in—that is how you find the most interesting events and stumble across the most bizarre of activities. Doing things that others classify as ‘different’ is what makes you interesting.” (The Dogs of Babel)
---“What truly makes these books unforgettable is how they have affected the way in which I live my own life. In my opinion, a good book should impact how one lives and/or perceives the world.” (The Chronicles of Narnia)
---“The book deals with religion, violence, culture clashes, and adapting to an ever-changing society.” (Things Fall Apart)
---“This is the best book that I have ever read because it portrayed ordinary characters in an ordinary setting in an extraordinary way.” (My Antonia)
---“Over the course of the novel, she grows into her own skin and finds the strength to open her mouth and stand up for herself.” (Speak)
---“Never had a book been able to have a great enough impact on me that I was afraid to be alone in my own house or make me feel bad for the characters.” (The Lovely Bones)
---“The novel contains all of the aspects that I like in a book: comedic events, love stories, drama, and life lessons.” (The Help)
---“This book really gets at how quick society is to judge someone and how unforgiving human beings are of people who have made mistakes.” (A Change of Heart)
---“Seeing how he was able to overcome those struggles to follow his passion inspires me to follow through with my dreams, even when it feels like I can not accomplish them.” (Balanchine: A Biography)
---“I remember feeling anxious; I remember feeling angry and I remember feeling sympathy and sadness.” (Night)
---“To read the book is to witness the thoughts and experience the mentality of a very conflicted individual, which is a very intimate subject.” (Steppenwolf)
---“This introduced me to Camus’s ideas of ‘the absurd’ relationship between humanity’s innate desire for meaning in a perceivably meaningless world.” (The Stranger)
---“The novel made me fascinated by power and persuasion.” (Animal Farm)
---“I cannot begin to count the number of times as a child that I imagined myself casting Gandalf’s spells, wielding Aragon’s sword, hefting Gimli’s axe, or firing Legolas’ bow.” (Return of the King)
---“It is my belief that these immoral characters make it much easier to identify with the story.” (Wuthering Heights)
---“It caused me to look at life in a way that would never be the same.” (The Power of Now)
---“Incorporated into these incredible stories are lessons that he learned about human nature, leadership, and management.” (The Mission, the Men, and Me)
---“His mission is to help those in need and he is a walking example of someone who simply goes out in life to make a difference.” (Mountains Beyond Mountains)
---“The book is so well written that I became very attached to the characters and surprisingly nervous when they were in trouble.” (1984)
---“The book was very intense and it dealt with the will to live. It made me, the reader, think on many different levels. It challenged my beliefs.” (The Life of Pi)
---“(The author) touches upon the topics of homosexuality, ordination of women in the church, the human’s responsibility of environment stewardship.” (Sins of Scripture)
---“There’s just something about this book that I somehow get lost in every time I sit down to read it.” (Pride and Prejudice)
---“The perfect balance of intellectual material and romance in this book stuck with me, and I loved researching this book after I had read it.” (The Citadel)
---“It was the first book that made me think, made me calm down, and made me organize my life better so I could fit a few more pages in.” (Ender’s Game)
---“I finally understood the power of having a dream and passion and going for it.” (Downsized)
The actual list of student best books is a bit further down this note. And, some of my own best books are included at the very end of this list.
I ask students about "best books" because I want to encourage you to read on a regular basis and to read exceptionally good books. Reading good books is a habit that can bring incredible joy and richness to your life. It helps you think more deeply and I think we can all use that. Reading good books is something you can learn to do even if it does not come naturally to you. There are scores of marvelous books on this list; you will have missed a true pleasure in life if you fail to read a couple of them. In addition, I believe that you will be a better accountant/business person if you have an adult life that is enriched by such things as going to art museums and to the theatre as well as reading good books. I would urge you to find an excellent book on this list and read it within the next couple of months. Pick a book where several people (other college students very much like you) have said “this book made a real difference in my life.”
Make time to read - you will never regret it. I know you are busy folks but everyone has 15 free minutes each day and 15 minutes per day of good reading could do ever so much good for you. If I could choose between teaching you accounting and teaching you to read great books, I would choose to teach you to read great books without a second thought. In the long run, you would be ever so much better off.
A few people answered my question with the disclaimer: "I don't have much time to read anything besides textbooks." In some ways, that is the whole point of this exercise; you only have a year or so left to read textbooks. How will you make use of the 50-70 years after that? Watching television or wandering around the Internet for three hours each night will hardly make you a better and more interesting person. Reading nothing but FASB pronouncements really limits you as a human. You need to be more human and reading well should help.
You have to fill up your hours so choose wisely as to how you do that.
You should make reading (especially good reading) a habit that will keep your mind expanding even after you have put down your textbooks. When someone tells me that a book is great, my curiosity is almost overwhelming – what lies between the covers of that book that this person found to be so wonderful? If I read that same book, will it have that same impact on me? Knowledge flows out of your head constantly; it is not a bad idea to reverse the flow occasionally and put some stuff back into your head. Put the good stuff in your head – long term, you’ll be glad you did.
YOUR CLASS BEST BOOKS - CLASS OF 2013 (if two books or more were listed by a student, I only included the first one)
1984
A Change of Heart
And Then There Were None
Animal Farm
Balanchine: A Biography
Downsized
Ender’s Game
Freakonomics
Gone With the Wind
Green Mile
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
How To Be a Gentleman
Lord of the Rings (trilogy)
Mountains Beyond Mountains
My Antonia
Night
Pride and Prejudice
Return of the King
Sentimental Education
Sins of Scripture
Speak
Steppenwolf
Stories of Romans
The Big Short
The Chronicles of Narnia
The Citadel
The Count of Monte Cristo
The Dogs of Babel
The Giver
The Glass Castle
The Great Gatsby (5)
The Help
The Hunger Games
The Kite Runner
The Last Amateurs
The Life of Pi
The Lovely Bones
The Mission, the Men, and Me
The Power of Now
The Stranger
Things Fall Apart
To Kill a Mockingbird (2)
To Live
Unpractical Demon Keeping
Valley of the Dolls
Wuthering Heights
**********
COMBINATION OF THE PREVIOUS CLASSES OF 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013 (if a book was chosen by more than one student, that is indicated by the extra number – and I’ll say it again, look for books that have been picked by a number of students over the years and go out and read a couple, those tend to be really special):
14,000 Things to be Happy About
1984 (10)
2001
A Child Called “It” (2)
A Clean, Well-Lighted Place
A Clockwork Orange (6)
A Confederacy of Dunces (2)
A Discourse on Inequality
A Farewell to Arms (5)
(From Joe – there are literally scores of books on this list. I want drive you crazy listing them all. However, if you want to see the entire list, send me an email at Jhoyle@richmond.edu and I’ll be glad to send you the entire list.)
Where the Red Fern Grows (8)
White Noise
Who Moved My Cheese (3)
Wild Swans
Wiseguy
Wooden: A Lifetime of Reflections From On and Off the Court
Wuthering Heights (2)
Zadig
Zoo Doctor
TEACHER'S LIST –
I actually keep a list of all the books that I read and all the movies that I see. Here are the best books that I read over the last 12 months: Freedom, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café, Memoirs of a Geisha, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and Life Itself. (In case you are interested, the best movies that I saw in the last 12 months were: Midnight in Paris, Incendies, Let Me In, Harvard Beats Yale 29-29, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo [American version – I especially liked the first three minutes], The Artist, Janis, and Pete Seeger: The Power of Song.)
And, yes, I have read all of the Harry Potter books as well as The DaVinci Code and Angels & Demons. They are all quite good but not in my all-time best list.
At my age, beyond last year, I cannot remember all of the books that I have loved but here are some that I remember quite well:
Jane Eyre, The Scarlet Letter, Catch 22, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, I, Claudius Ragtime, For Whom The Bells Toll, Lonesome Dove, The Mosquito Coast, The Old Man and The Sea, Prince of Tides, Dandelion Wine, Slaughter House Five, Burr, Siddharta, The Cider House Rules, 100 Poems by E. E. Cummings, In Cold Blood, Anna Karinana, Bob Dylan—A Descriptive, Critical Discography and Filmography 1961-1993, The Power and the Glory, Howards End, Into Thin Air, Freedom
My favorite author of "fluff" books is Elmore Leonard.
I also really like the works of Hermann Hesse and Graham Greene. I find that their words really touch me in some deep way.
One book that has really had an impact on me was a very short book that is considered a classic in discussing how businesses should be operated: Up The Organization. It is hard to sum up any book in a few words but this one stresses "expect the best from the people with whom you work and help them to reach that potential." Great book.
One book that affected my teaching was One L - it talks about being a student at Harvard Law School and about how the teachers in the Harvard Law School teach. One teacher in particular really interested me in that he taught by asking weird, off the wall questions, to get his students to think outside of the box.
My wife has added her best book to the list: Tidewater Tales.
A list of the best books of the 20th Century (according to the experts) can be found at: www.randomhouse.com/modernlibrary/100best.html
Another good list of great books can be found at www.time.com/100books
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Lazy? Or What?
Several weeks ago, I had the privilege of speaking to 70 teachers or so at the Kentucky Accounting Educators’ Forum. At one point in that presentation, I made a comment that working with students who can often be incredibly lazy is a real challenge for every teacher. My guess is that every teacher has mumbled similar words over the years.
Later that day, Randy Hahm who is on the faculty at Kentucky State drove me to the airport. On the way, Randy told me about one of his favorite quotes from Zig Ziglar, the world famous motivational speaker: “There’s no such thing as a lazy person; he’s either sick or uninspired.” I don’t remember much else about that day but those few words have stuck with me since that car trip. My students rarely appear sick. So, whenever I’m dissatisfied with their efforts, is it laziness or is lack of inspiration?
Lazy or uninspired? On the surface, you might ask what difference does that distinction make? I think it makes an important difference as you think about your role as an educator.
--Laziness would mean that a lack of understanding and a resulting poor grade are basically the student’s own fault; the teacher is not the one to blame. I can wash my hands of any guilt. The student got what the student deserved.
--On the other hand, lack of inspiration can be attributed (at least in part) to me as the teacher. If students are not working up to their potential, I have not yet figured out how to get them interested or involved enough. I have not convinced them that the understanding is worth the effort. Instead of blaming the student, perhaps I should try some new type of inspiration. If Zig Ziglar is correct, then I need to look differently at students that I have previously classified as “lazy.” Perhaps, I have washed my hands of guilt a bit too quickly.
Question 1 – how can a teacher inspire students?
For most, inspiration is typically limited to carrots and sticks.
---“Learn this material and you will get a good grade.”
---“Learn this material and you will get a good job.”
---“Learn this material and your mom will be proud.”
Those are all common carrots used to inspire students to do high quality work. Do the work and there is a vague payoff down the line somewhere.
---“Learn this material because it will be on the test.”
---“Learn this material or you are going to fail.”
---“Learn this material because no one is going to hire you with a D on your transcript.”
---“Learn this material or you are wasting your tuition money.”
Those are all sticks used to prod students into working. If you don’t do this work, something bad is going to happen to you.
In the past, I’ve used both carrots and sticks. However, I’m not sure we shouldn’t get away from over-reliance on both carrots and sticks. Actually, I’m not sure they are really inspirations. They seem more like bribes and punishments.
Maybe we should think more about true inspiration.
---“You are capable of doing this. Let me show you how this material might be useful to you as you make decisions in your chosen career.”
---“You are capable of doing this. Let me show you why this material is actually interesting.”
---“You are capable of doing this. Let me show you how working out this answer is like solving a challenging puzzle.”
---“You are capable of doing this. Let me show you how understanding this material will help you as we move to our next topic.”
These are neither bribes nor punishments. A benefit is promised that is more immediate and goes beyond a simple letter grade. The teacher is trying to build confidence while giving the student a legitimate reason for doing the work. The teacher is working to promote inspiration over laziness.
Question 2 – is it your responsibility to inspire students?
But is the teacher really responsible for inspiration? I know plenty of college professors who will say “I teach my classes. The students are adults; it is their responsibility to motivate themselves. Whether they are lazy or uninspired makes no difference to me; it is their problem. It is up to them to prove they want to do well.” That’s a very good point. “Cheerleader” is not part of the job description.
In fact, I have this argument with myself rather frequently. In the end, I always come back to the same point: I want results. By hook or crook, I want results. I want my students to learn and understand. I’m willing to accept some responsibility for student inspiration if it leads to student success.
Recently, a colleague of mine, Randolph New, emailed me a copy of an article from the online version of The Chronicle of Higher Education (April 15, 2012) titled “Can Colleges Manufacture Motivation?” by Dan Berrett. (I do realize that “motivation” and “inspiration” are two different things but I’m not sure students realize that. In fact, perhaps we all try to motivate our students when we really should be trying to inspire them.)
The article discussed the importance of motivation in the success of college students. In this article, according to the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education, 2/3 of four-year college students said their motivation levels had stayed the same or actually dropped during their college experience. That’s a fairly high percentage of students who felt absolutely no increase in motivation as a result of college. Okay, here’s the obvious question: How would the educational experience (for students and teachers alike) have changed if all those students had seen an increase in their motivation? My guess is that their classes would have been significantly better in almost every conceivably way. Perhaps some motivation/inspiration really can improve education.
There are two additional thoughts in this article that I want to mention. One was just a wonderful description of the teachder's impact on a student: “There was an identifiable moment in which a faculty member created a spark in them; students became energized or excited by a topic, an idea, or a discipline. In those moments, he said, a faculty member conveyed to the student that he or she could perform on the collegiate level.”
It is hard to read those sentences without becoming excited about teaching. That’s what I got into this business to do. I especially liked the way teachers can create that spark in their students.
The second thought was a more personalized observation within this article: “The researchers in the Wabash study attributed the differences in motivation more narrowly. Their findings suggest that motivation is a product of professors more than it is of colleges.”
When it comes to motivation (or inspiration), it is not the college that counts but rather it is the teacher. Whether you teach at the best known college in the country or the least known, it is not the school that makes the difference; it is the teacher that does. If there is going to be that spark, it has to come from the teacher. If we are going to move away from lazy students to inspired students, it has to come from the teacher.
Question 3 – how do you inspire students?
My final question is just a general one: How do YOU try to inspire your students? Forget about carrots and sticks for a moment. Get away from bribes and punishment. What do you do that might inspire your students? If you have not thought of that question before, today might be a good day to start. If you have even one student that you would classify as lazy, how can you turn that person into an inspired student? In the end, that might make all the difference in the world.
Later that day, Randy Hahm who is on the faculty at Kentucky State drove me to the airport. On the way, Randy told me about one of his favorite quotes from Zig Ziglar, the world famous motivational speaker: “There’s no such thing as a lazy person; he’s either sick or uninspired.” I don’t remember much else about that day but those few words have stuck with me since that car trip. My students rarely appear sick. So, whenever I’m dissatisfied with their efforts, is it laziness or is lack of inspiration?
Lazy or uninspired? On the surface, you might ask what difference does that distinction make? I think it makes an important difference as you think about your role as an educator.
--Laziness would mean that a lack of understanding and a resulting poor grade are basically the student’s own fault; the teacher is not the one to blame. I can wash my hands of any guilt. The student got what the student deserved.
--On the other hand, lack of inspiration can be attributed (at least in part) to me as the teacher. If students are not working up to their potential, I have not yet figured out how to get them interested or involved enough. I have not convinced them that the understanding is worth the effort. Instead of blaming the student, perhaps I should try some new type of inspiration. If Zig Ziglar is correct, then I need to look differently at students that I have previously classified as “lazy.” Perhaps, I have washed my hands of guilt a bit too quickly.
Question 1 – how can a teacher inspire students?
For most, inspiration is typically limited to carrots and sticks.
---“Learn this material and you will get a good grade.”
---“Learn this material and you will get a good job.”
---“Learn this material and your mom will be proud.”
Those are all common carrots used to inspire students to do high quality work. Do the work and there is a vague payoff down the line somewhere.
---“Learn this material because it will be on the test.”
---“Learn this material or you are going to fail.”
---“Learn this material because no one is going to hire you with a D on your transcript.”
---“Learn this material or you are wasting your tuition money.”
Those are all sticks used to prod students into working. If you don’t do this work, something bad is going to happen to you.
In the past, I’ve used both carrots and sticks. However, I’m not sure we shouldn’t get away from over-reliance on both carrots and sticks. Actually, I’m not sure they are really inspirations. They seem more like bribes and punishments.
Maybe we should think more about true inspiration.
---“You are capable of doing this. Let me show you how this material might be useful to you as you make decisions in your chosen career.”
---“You are capable of doing this. Let me show you why this material is actually interesting.”
---“You are capable of doing this. Let me show you how working out this answer is like solving a challenging puzzle.”
---“You are capable of doing this. Let me show you how understanding this material will help you as we move to our next topic.”
These are neither bribes nor punishments. A benefit is promised that is more immediate and goes beyond a simple letter grade. The teacher is trying to build confidence while giving the student a legitimate reason for doing the work. The teacher is working to promote inspiration over laziness.
Question 2 – is it your responsibility to inspire students?
But is the teacher really responsible for inspiration? I know plenty of college professors who will say “I teach my classes. The students are adults; it is their responsibility to motivate themselves. Whether they are lazy or uninspired makes no difference to me; it is their problem. It is up to them to prove they want to do well.” That’s a very good point. “Cheerleader” is not part of the job description.
In fact, I have this argument with myself rather frequently. In the end, I always come back to the same point: I want results. By hook or crook, I want results. I want my students to learn and understand. I’m willing to accept some responsibility for student inspiration if it leads to student success.
Recently, a colleague of mine, Randolph New, emailed me a copy of an article from the online version of The Chronicle of Higher Education (April 15, 2012) titled “Can Colleges Manufacture Motivation?” by Dan Berrett. (I do realize that “motivation” and “inspiration” are two different things but I’m not sure students realize that. In fact, perhaps we all try to motivate our students when we really should be trying to inspire them.)
The article discussed the importance of motivation in the success of college students. In this article, according to the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education, 2/3 of four-year college students said their motivation levels had stayed the same or actually dropped during their college experience. That’s a fairly high percentage of students who felt absolutely no increase in motivation as a result of college. Okay, here’s the obvious question: How would the educational experience (for students and teachers alike) have changed if all those students had seen an increase in their motivation? My guess is that their classes would have been significantly better in almost every conceivably way. Perhaps some motivation/inspiration really can improve education.
There are two additional thoughts in this article that I want to mention. One was just a wonderful description of the teachder's impact on a student: “There was an identifiable moment in which a faculty member created a spark in them; students became energized or excited by a topic, an idea, or a discipline. In those moments, he said, a faculty member conveyed to the student that he or she could perform on the collegiate level.”
It is hard to read those sentences without becoming excited about teaching. That’s what I got into this business to do. I especially liked the way teachers can create that spark in their students.
The second thought was a more personalized observation within this article: “The researchers in the Wabash study attributed the differences in motivation more narrowly. Their findings suggest that motivation is a product of professors more than it is of colleges.”
When it comes to motivation (or inspiration), it is not the college that counts but rather it is the teacher. Whether you teach at the best known college in the country or the least known, it is not the school that makes the difference; it is the teacher that does. If there is going to be that spark, it has to come from the teacher. If we are going to move away from lazy students to inspired students, it has to come from the teacher.
Question 3 – how do you inspire students?
My final question is just a general one: How do YOU try to inspire your students? Forget about carrots and sticks for a moment. Get away from bribes and punishment. What do you do that might inspire your students? If you have not thought of that question before, today might be a good day to start. If you have even one student that you would classify as lazy, how can you turn that person into an inspired student? In the end, that might make all the difference in the world.
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