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Old 02-07-2016, 09:50 PM
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The Lone Ranger The Lone Ranger is offline
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Default Re: Fucking education! How does it work?

Okay, I've said it before, but teaching is either one of the easiest jobs in the world, or one of the hardest. It depends on how seriously you take your responsibilities.


It's Sunday, and here I am in my office, preparing for tomorrow's classes. Oh yeah, and I have to make sure I have everything I'll need for tomorrow's lab, too. I'd better make sure of that before I go home for the evening, too. In short, I'll be here for several more hours, at least.

I was here yesterday, too, preparing lesson plans. I didn't leave until after midnight.

And that's entirely typical.


I hear people talk about how teachers are underworked and overpaid. Really? I work 7 days in a typical week and way more than 40 hours per week. True, things won't be quite so hectic next year, since I'll have taught all of my classes before, so I'll simply be revising and revamping my lectures instead of making them up from scratch.

I'll still be working 60-plus-hour weeks though, if past experience is anything to go by.

And I'm a college professor; I don't have the same degree of stress and responsibilities that an elementary- or high school-level teacher does.


True, we (sometimes) get our Summers off, and that is a nice perk, I must say. But I'd argue that you need that time off to re-charge and de-stress. Otherwise, you burn out quickly.


Even so, a lot of people do burn out.

I've had plenty of talks with colleagues who cheerfully admit that they do as little as they possibly can, and who seem to think that I'm putting way too much effort into my teaching. They just show the students the Powerpoint presentations that come with the Teacher's Edition of the textbook, they give the students the prepared multiple-choice exams that come with the Teacher's Edition of the textbook, and they assign their Teaching Assistants to do the actual grading. See? What could be easier?


So why on Earth am I putting in so much effort? Why do I insist on writing my own lectures? Why do I insist on preparing lesson plans and course outlines for the students? Why do I insist on writing my own exams (with essay questions that are designed to ensure that the students understand the material and aren't just parroting back memorized "facts") and then grading them by myself?



Because, yesterday, a student e-mailed me with a question. I provided a detailed and (I hope) helpful and enlightening response. This morning, I received a reply; the title of the e-mail was "God Bless You!".

Because I think it's far more important that students understand the concepts I'm trying to teach them than that they simply memorize a bunch of "facts" that they'll forget instantly as soon as they've completed the exam.



One of the students in my Introductory class last semester had taken it with the previous instructor and dropped out. She told me in great detail how much she enjoyed my class -- even though she isn't a Biology major -- because I actually cared about the students' education. According to her, the previous instructor would walk in, show his Powerpoints (taken straight from the publisher) without taking any questions or offering anything other than the barest of commentary, and then walk out. His tests were simple multiple-choice exams taken, again, straight from the publisher.

According to her, the instructor made absolutely no effort to hide the fact that he was just going through the motions, and had no interest whatsoever in actually educating the students.


In my Zoology class this semester, a student has been telling me exactly the same story. According to her, the previous instructor would just walk in, show a bunch of Powerpoints without taking questions or bothering to offer any explanation other than just reading straight from the slides, and then walk out.


As it happens, I was prepping a lab a few days ago, and a fellow instructor was teaching in the room next door. He walked in, droned at them for an hour or so without taking any questions, and then walked out. When I glanced into the room from time to time and saw that most of the students were either sleeping or playing with their phones, I couldn't help but think, "Well of course they aren't paying attention; if I didn't know any better, I'd think he was trying to put them into a coma.".



But then, an awful lot of students are used to this sort of "teaching." It's easy for them, too. All they have to do is memorize the questions and answers -- which are provided in the "Study Guide" (which would more accurately be labeled "This Is What Will Be On The Exam") -- just long-enough to pass the test, and then they can (and do) promptly forget them. Thus, they can pass the course with almost no actual effort on their parts.



And then I come along, and I demand that students explain things and demonstrate that they can do more than just memorize facts.

As the student evaluations reveal, students tend to either love or hate that. My evaluations tend to be rather bimodal, as a result. Some of the reviews are along the lines of: "At last! Finally, a teacher who actually teaches and makes sure that we understand the material!".

The remaining reviews tend to be along the lines of: "Who does he think he is? He's way too demanding! How dare he insist that we think; this isn't graduate school?". [You may think I'm exaggerating for effect, but sadly, I'm not. More than one student complained bitterly that it was totally unrealistic and unfair that I expected them to think.]



Oh well, rant over. Time to get back to work.
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