(NOTE: This is my 269th posting on this blog. Over the years, the writings have never really varied. They have always been about my observations on teaching in college, which is, I truly believe, one of the most important professions in the world--maybe the most important. We should all approach this job as if the fate of our planet depends on us.
I tend to author 5 to 15 new essays each year. If you would like to receive a short notification from me whenever I post a new essay, send me an email at Jhoyle@richmond.edu. I will not email you for other reasons – I respect your privacy. I will just let you know when I have posted a new entry to the blog.
And, as a wonderful new school year begins, THANKS to everyone who reads these blog essays and spends some serious time thinking about teaching!!!)
**
In
12 days, I begin my 48th year in the classroom. As always, I am looking forward to the
challenge, to the fun of going into class and trying to help all my students
learn, think, and understand. I hope you
are at least half as excited as I am about the possibilities that come from the
beginning of a new academic year. It is
a great time to be enthusiastic.
I
have two classes of juniors and one class of sophomores. Over the summer, I have emailed the
sophomores about six times and the juniors eleven. Seems like overkill doesn’t it?
Why
have I written to the students so often?
Am I trying to drive them crazy or scare them to death??? Well, I will come back to my rationale, but
first a story.
Yesterday,
I was sitting at a coffee shop near our campus talking with a dear friend about
teaching. I posed a question to her
that I want to ask you. “I believe if you
take all the great teachers you’ve ever known and think about how they taught,
you’ll discover they have at least one thing in common. They all demonstrate this one thing. I don’t think it alone makes anyone a great
teacher but, without it, I don’t think you have any chance at all of being
great. What do you think that one thing
is? Think about the great teachers you
have known. How were they alike?”
**
Okay,
obviously, I want each of my readers to stop right here and consider the question. What characteristic do all great teachers
have? I think this is truly important
because it forces you to consider the question for yourself. Don’t just listen to what I have to
say. I might be full of nonsense. What do you think?
**
My
friend and I discussed the question generally for a while until she turned to
me and said, “Okay, I’m ready to hear what you think. You clearly have an answer that you like so
convince me that you are correct.”
My
answer is this. And, this is the basic
reason for sending so many emails to my students before I even meet them. I believe no teacher can be great unless the
students have a deeply held faith in the teacher and the teacher’s
abilities. Few students are ever going
to do their best work unless they have faith that they are not wasting their
time. Think of the great teachers you
have had and ask yourself whether they were able to establish a high degree of
student faith. I am betting the answer
is Yes. “This person really can teach me
something worth knowing.” Here at the beginning of the semester, if you
can begin to establish student faith, you open up the potential for a truly
great semester. This is the perfect
moment to consider the issue.
Well,
this raises a more complex question, what do I mean by “student faith?” This is not a religious experience where you
walk in and simply ask the students to have faith in you. What is it?
Here’s
how I view the creation of a student’s faith in a teacher.
First,
students have to have some understanding of what you are trying to accomplish. How is the course organized and what are your
goals? Without that, you are just
asking for blind faith. “Trust me
because I am the teacher” is going to get you few converts in 2018. Students don’t want to see a day-by-day
outline of the course but they need a general idea of how you work and what you
are trying to achieve. Confusion does not inspire faith.
Second,
and this relates directly to the first requirement, students have to believe that you
have the ability to achieve your goals.
When I was in college, I had a number of teachers who started the first
day telling us about the wonderful things that were going to happen during the semester. However, within a week or so, it became
obvious that the teacher simply did not know how to attain those objectives. If you promise the moon, you better be able
to show them how you are going to get them together to make the voyage. Promises alone mean nothing. In fact, promises alone are just irritating.
Third,
students must be shown why the goals you have established are important and
attainable. Why should my students want
to learn this stuff? Students are human
beings. If you can show them that work
has value, they will likely do the work.
If you cannot show them that work has value, why would many of them ever
do anything? This is common sense.
Fourth,
the students must believe that you will be fair in everything you do with the
students, especially the grading.
Teachers can be easy and students will adapt. Teachers can be hard and students will
adapt. But, if students come to believe
you are not fair, they will never adapt to you and what you are trying to do.
Why
all the emails to my students over the summer?
In my never subtle way, I am trying to answer four questions for them.
(1) –
What are my goals? What am I trying to
accomplish?
(2) –
How am I going to get every member of the class to reach those goals?
(3) –
Why is the work worth the effort?
(4) –
How am I going to treat them so that I am absolutely fair to everyone?
If I
can come up with satisfactory answers to those questions before I meet them, I
have a chance to establish student faith in me and what I hope to
accomplish. I believe that creates the
foundation for the construction of a great class. Without that faith, it is going to be a long, tough semester.
A
new semester is beginning. It’s a good
time to address these four questions with your students. Build their faith.
