Every Fall semester, I become introspective and ask myself “Why do I Teach?” I began teaching in the Fall of 1999 at the University of Rochester, NY. It seems more than ten years ago, but at the same time, ten years seems to have flown by.
Teaching brings me great joy! I am passionate about teaching! Maybe I’m just fortunate to love it so much. Even with the multitude of work from my new position as the Director of the FCTL, I chose to remain in the classroom to teach not only because I think it’s important, but mostly because I enjoy it.
But why? Why do I teach? Why do we teach? Or maybe the question should be: why would we want to teach? There are grades to assign, exams and papers to mark, long hours spent trying to craft an enlightening and electrifying lecture, and most of the time all this is done in isolation. Teaching is often experienced as a lonely endeavor. In addition, students are not always as enthusiastic about the course material and as engaged as we would like them to be. It often feels like you are the only one in the classroom putting on this performance, trying to create an environment to help students learn. Wow! This is a tall order! Maybe we teach because we can make a lot of money doing it. However, is that the main reason we teach? We all know it’s not.
Every time I walk into a new classroom, every new semester, I feel the exhilaration of this new semester. I’m filled with the desire to have an impact on the students. I feel privileged. Will I be able to talk about my discipline with enough passion to help them appreciate it as much as I do? I feel the responsibility to live up to this expectation. I wonder if I will be able to live up to their expectations. Sometimes, the magnitude of my responsibility as a teacher hits me. How will I know if they are learning or not? Will the grade they obtain in my class reflect how much they have learned? Then I tell myself that I know about many techniques to help students learn. I remind myself that I know this stuff! I know my material and I have prepared my class well. I crafted a good syllabus, I know what I’m going to teach and in which sequence, and I feel prepared. But then I realize that all this preparation, although necessary, is not sufficient to help students learn and succeed. Then I come to realize once again, that the best way to facilitate student learning is to convey to them the love that I have for my discipline and to teach it with passion, to teach it from the heart. Bottom line, I teach because I love my discipline, I love teaching, and I care for my students. I walk into the classroom every semester so that I can experience the look on the students’ face when they finally get it. This aha! moment. I teach so that I can see the sparkle in their eyes and the animation in their voices when they get excited about sharing their new understanding of the discipline. I teach for the times when I get a random phone call or email by one of my former students, thanking me for the impact I have made in their life, because they are now leaders in their field, our field.
This is why we teach.
Maybe you have a different opinion. Maybe you would like to agree with me and add your own thoughts. Let me know what you think. I will post on this blog frequently. I am new to this whole blogging experience, but I would really appreciate and welcome your comments and input. I want this experience to be as interactive as possible!
So why do you teach? Have a great semester and enjoy the many joys and challenges of teaching!
I love this! And, as a former student not yet in the field, I can not wait to get out there and share my passion and knowledge in whatever area I go into.
Good luck in your first year at the FCTL!
Chantal,
I have to agree about the reward we recieve for our hard work in the classroom (online or seated) when students provide us with unsolicited comments about how our teaching positively impacted their lives.
I recall an online student who was economically disadvantaged. She was struggling as a single mother with two children and no Internet connection at home. She went to a neighbor or the library after driving a school bus early in the morning.. She was going to drop out of college when I encouraged her to “stay the course” and not give up. She stayed in class and made it through a difficult time. Attending her graduation two years later was a rewarding expereince for me. She is now planning to attend graduate school and become a teacher.
I still hear regularly from my former military students in the 1980s and 1990s when I taught in Germany for the University of Maryland.
Gary Rader