Teddy

Today, pastor shared the parable of Teddy. As far as I can tell, it is just that, a parable on the power a teacher can have, but it is a good one. Rather than cut and paste it here, I’ve linked to it above and will just comment on the lessons.

The basic story is that a bright elementary student lost his mother to illness around 2^nd grade and entered a downward spiral in school and personality. His 5^th grade teacher eventually learned the back story, stopped dreading his presence in class, began to work with him and turned things around, such that he went on to become a doctor, and had her stand in for his mom at his wedding.

In my own teaching, I’ve had a tendency to follow the conventional wisdom that in general, the A students will succeed no matter what you do, the average students will be average and the weak students will do poorly. Good teaching may shift where those boundaries are, but radical transformation is rare.

I still think that is largely true. But the conviction I received today was that because transformation does occur, then I should seek it out and nurture it, rather than let it happen on its own. I commit to having my TA’s point out the weak and struggling students to me, so that I can intervene and see if this one is a transformation needing a boost.

That is the call of a true teacher—to provide a solid educational environment for the majority to get what they want out of the lessons, then to actively seek out those needing and wanting to be lifted out of their situation.

Jesus died for all, and asks all who will to come, yet stories abound of Him reaching out special to those wanting but unable to find Him. Can we do any less in our teaching?

SDG

Teaching With Fear and Trembling

A topic I’ve revisited a number of times arises again. How do we balance the need to inspire and motivate students with the need to critique and even rebuke them at times? Christ doesn’t call us to be ‘nice,’ but loving. They are quite different.

But then I run into a verse in church like Galatians 6:1.

The RSV states “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Look to yourself, lest you too be tempted.”

This isn’t too terribly hard to accept. But if you read it in Eugene Peterson’s “The Message,” he gives it a much different spin:

                “Live creatively, friends. If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day's out.”

Choosing Lecture Humour Carefully

In my introductory lecture to all of my labs every semester, I try to put one-liners and other bits of humor in to keep the students engaged. One of the quips I used to do with some regularity when talking about selecting lab partners was something along the lines of, “Any partnerships lasting longer than the semester just go to show the lasting and central power of chemistry in our lives.”

Over the years, I’ve gotten several emails from students (usually female) to inform me that they remembered my joking about that and were now marrying their lab partner from my course.

Things like these are the hidden gems of teaching.

SDG

Caring Too Much

This evening, Friday night of Thanksgiving weekend, I received a text message from one of my Teaching Assistants. “Hi, Dr. Wilson. Can you call me when u get a chance? We are having issues in [class]”

I was in the middle of something, away from my computer, and wanted to check email before calling him, to see if there was more information there, as I like to have all of the information possible before discussing it with those involved.

It wasn’t meant to be. About five minutes later, the phone rang. I jokingly reproved him, “I thought you wanted me to call you when I had the chance?”

Dedication and Honor

Today we dedicated a building on campus to the man who was university President during its conception and building. Not only was he president, he is also a chemist who used to do research in the area that was a predecessor to the subject of the building, so it is appropriate on many levels.

It is nice to see people get honored for the work they do in this world, yet I continually find myself asking internally what the lasting value of it is. Is it just a hardier laurel wreath or will the good work so and so has done last beyond the memories of those present, and even longer, into eternity. I hope so.

Teaching the Previous Generations

Most folks think of education as primarily from the older generations to the younger. This is generally true, but there is increasing cross-fertilization in the process where the younger generation teaches the older.

I spent several hours tonight giving my folks a tour of facebook. They’ve resisted getting involved, just as I did. Early in this blog’s history, I posted about my antipathy towards facebook, but, as one friend put it, “I surrendered to the evil empire.” Now my folks are re-evaluating their resistance to it, so they asked me to show them and explain what I’ve learned about privacy and security and pros/cons. They understand it better, see new pitfalls and new possibilities. We’ll see if they take the plunge.

Fresh Minds, Waiting to be Molded Awakened

Colleagues, the new academic year is upon us. The freshmen are here. For us, it’s the same old drill. For them, it’s a brand, brave, new world. Some are scared spitless, others excited at the scent of new freedom, others have wild oats waiting to be felt and seized, and still others believe themselves ready to take on the establishment and conquer old paradigms with the wisdom of youth.

And we, the old paradigms, are laughing behind our wizened beards.

Each of these is about to undergo probably the greatest intellectual rite of passage in their lives. Their bodies are fully developed, but their minds are about to have the greatest growth spurt since the acquisition of language.

The question that lies before us then, colleagues, is will we try to shape these minds, to force them into some mold, conform them to the image of society, prepare them to be good little worker bees with our droning?

Or will we give them tools and train them in their usage so that they will engage their assumptions and perceptions, challenge to seek what is truth, to keep that and reject the rest, to be able to pierce the veils of mere rhetoric to examine for meaning and clear thought?

One is the easy way out. The other is our job, and duty.

SDG

Blackbox Lifestyle

Tech types refer to any device that is so highly complex the user can only use it and not service it as a “blackbox.” They are often simple to use but their inner workings are a complete mystery to the user. Much of our American lifestyle is highly dependent upon such blackboxes—so much so that when they malfunction, it is easier and cheaper to throw them away and buy another than to troubleshoot and repair them, even when they cost hundreds of dollars—a concept unthinkable 50 years ago, and a sin 30 years ago. Your cell phone, blu-ray player, and so on are considered disposable by many people.

Many stories in science fiction center around some advanced civilization that has stagnated and is withering away because they are completely dependent upon technology built by their ancestors, but no one remains who understands it or is able to repair it as it wears out.

It has been a concern of mine for many years that our society is moving strongly towards this kind of scenario, and I found out last week that I’m not the only one.

The Rewards of Teaching

This afternoon, I got a call from a former student who upon graduation, served as a TA for me for several semesters before finally getting into grad school in another state. He’s a sharp guy but struggles with test anxiety and related issues, which kept him from getting into the schools he wanted. However, now that he’s in a research lab, he’s starting to really do well. We’ve always had a special and close relationship, yet this is the first we’ve talked since he left town a year ago, so I was glad for the update.

He expressed a lot of frustration to me with the lack of independent thought by the other members of the group. He only started in the group this summer, yet has totally revamped several techniques that lab developed, nearly doubling the efficiency. As he talked, it was rewarding to hear him use words, discuss skills and express attitudes he learned from my courses, and that they seemed to be the keys to his successes. What made his words sweeter was that he didn't seem to realize what he was saying, where it came from. It was completely internalized.

It doesn’t happen often, but every so often a student ‘gets it’:  internalizes the things you most wish to communicate to them. Then, when these same students succeed because of it, it goes a long way toward making the effort worth it, and even making you feel justified in your approach.

It gives you hope.

SDG

Planting a Semester

With the first summer term starting Thursday, I’m busy doing my semester prep, which consists of about 25 things, some minor and some major, that need to be done every semester. Much of it must wait until very shortly before and even after classes start. Some are as simple as reserving rooms for various meetings during the semester and some are as complex as reconfiguring web pages that have a difficult user interface, but that aren’t available until shortly before the term starts. Much of it is busy drudgery that takes enough brain power that it isn’t easily automated or delegated.

I started thinking about how the beginnings and endings of terms are always my busiest and most stressful times, and there simply isn’t much that can be done about them. It is very cyclical, so I started thinking about other life cycles and realized that the academic term for a faculty member can best be compared to the growing season for a farmer.

Knowing When to Quit

On the side, I sometimes tutor high school students, usually in chemistry, but have done most subjects. I usually get a call a day or two before a test and the student needs to review the whole unit, so it turns into a marathon session.

It is amazing to watch the moment when the student shuts down from overload. They are unable to figure out each next step of a problem without coaching, even on problems they know how to solve. They make dumb mistakes. Their eyes are glazed. When you hit this point, it is time to stop, mid-problem even, tell them to go to bed, get rested and tackle that problem from scratch in the morning.

Two Words to Improve Student Evals

Today I met with one of the advisors in our “Center for Teaching and Learning” to see if there were some simple steps to improve my student evaluations. They aren’t terrible, especially considering my role is more of an administrator than teacher, and that I am in charge of some of the most difficult and hated courses on campus. In light of those factors, I’m actually doing well! But if there is a way to help bump them up that is simple, why not?

                    

After discussing the course with the advisor, she said there are two simple things I can do (more of) that should boost the evals—transparency and care.

Transparency is letting students see the mechanics of the course policies—what are the reasons why we do what we do in the class. I agree wholeheartedly with this, as I discussed a few months ago. Now, there are some things it is appropriate not to publicize to maintain order, and as this is a public blog, I won’t reveal them here (sorry guys!). In general, people like to know that systems aren’t arbitrary. God even has some transparency with the Israelites when giving the Law—“do this because…”

To be more precise, ‘care’ means to demonstrate care. This is all the more important when you don’t have a daily hands-on role in the running of the course. For example, I periodically walk through the labs and visit with students, see how they are doing and offer assistance. Also, I meet with every one of them individually for personalized career counseling. This shows that I’m not some chemistry ‘shadow government.’

Other things I’ve found that matter are responding quickly to student emails, addressing concerns quickly, communicating when things are delayed or changed (grading is taking longer than expected, sign up lists are not ready when projected, etc.), and so on.

Unsurprisingly, it seems the key to good evals is not a brilliant teaching style, knowing the material cold, or any of that stuff. The key is the human touch. It’s also an effective way to minister to them.

SDG

The Joy of Teaching

Sometimes I tutor on the side for a little extra cash. Tonight, I was helping the third and last child in a family with her high school chemistry. It is times like tonight that refresh my enthusiasm for teaching. She commented near the end that when the teacher was covering the subject, she just sat there with no clue what was happening, but now she understood. That is a good feeling.

Does she have a bad teacher? I don’t know—there’s no way to tell based on that. It helps to have the individual attention that a private tutor offers. Also, often we need to hear things several times before they sink in and make sense. A postdoc in my advisor’s research group told me when I joined to do my thesis research, “Quantum chemistry takes about 10 years to understand, and then it just ‘clicks.’”

This need for repetition is why God instituted the Passover and other festivals, communion and similar rituals. We need to remember what God has done for us and we forget, so we need to have reminders.

The disappointing thing for me is that I’m very patient being the second person to explain something the first time (as in the case of my tutoree), but tend to be less so the more I have to explain it over and over again to the same person or class. It is simply because >I< forget that people forget.

Where is the ritual to remember that? Oh, yeah—every time I need to repeat myself. I guess I’d better find a better way.

We humans are strange creatures!

SDG

The Brooklyn Space Program

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXkoIBDXwd8&feature=player_embedded

Absolutely incredible—a father and his 8 yr old son design and build a homemade space probe, launch and recover it. I don’t know the father’s background, but it is a remarkable feat nonetheless.

What can we challenge our students to dream and bring into existence using what is around them?

I’m not just talking spaceships, but

ideas

critical thought

awareness of the history around them

to see the world through low-tech eyes

using the mundane to understand/explore the profound

provide opportunities for God to reveal Himself through their subject matter

Homework: meditate on I Corinthians 1:18-29 and Romans 1:20a

SDG