What a great story, Freddie. In this case your colleague was even fulfilling his family’s dream, which probably fueled his passion for his masters work.

Thanks for your comment!

Thanks, Sarah! Cody brought up a good point (see above). Had I not had an older brother to take over the family business, my decision would have been much more difficult. I certainly could have joined him in the business, but I didn’t feel the pressure to “carry on the legacy.”

A very encouraging post! I know my dots often look like those in your first figure. In grad school, we gain so many skills from so many different experiences. Giving direction to these skills is not always easy. I always have to remind myself why I committed to this degree in the first place. The answer is, I love to teach! When I remember this, my “dots” begin to realign.

Great post! I love the way you put this:

“When students begin to learn a subject, they should first memorize facts, then understand and apply these facts into a creative process.”

I completely agree with you. A good example of this is elementary math. Imagine how difficult later classes would have been if we never had to memorize our basic multiplication tables. Since we have memorized 6 x 6 = 36, we don’t have to waste time trying to figure out the area of a 6 by 6 square. Memorizing the basics makes life easier and probably facilitates the “creative process.”

Thanks so much for your comment, Kate! Even after reading an article in some of the “applied research” journals, I’ll think to myself, “how in the world with this information actually improve the nursery industry?” Or, more specifically, “how will my Dad benefit from this information?”

You bring up a good point. Since my brother and cousin will eventually take over the business, I did feel like I had a choice. Had I been an only child, the decision would have been much more difficult, and I doubt I would be in grad school right now.

Your right–I love being able to reference my past experiences in my teaching. However, I have to remember that the way we run the business isn’t the only way. In other words, I have to remind my students (and myself) that the way “Shreckhise Shrubbery” operates isn’t the be-all and end-all.

Wow! Hot topic here. I would have to agree with Cody on this one. I was unaware of the prominence of this stereotype until I read your blog post. Of the many math teachers/professors I’ve had over the past 20 years or so, I think two have been male. So, I guess if someone asked me to guess which gender is better at math, I would have to say female. Could this be a regional stereotype? Or, being a male, maybe I was honestly just blind to it?

This is a very insightful post. You, yourself, add diversity to this classroom because you have had experiences that many of us have never had. Better yet, in writing this blog post, you have demonstrated how diversity can foster learning. I have never been in the Navy, so I could never use experiences in the Navy as a teaching point.

I guess what I’m trying to say here is that you have demonstrated that you don’t have to be a minority race, gender, etc to add diversity (sorry, I guess I didn’t speak directly to your actual post.)

What a great point! A class on note-taking would have been so helpful to me as a freshman. At the pace at which my professors roll through lectures, I can do one of two things: take notes or learn. The process of taking notes during a lecture has rarely improved my learning experience. On the other hand, re-writing my notes in my own words when I get home is extremely helpful. Maybe it’s a personal problem, but every time I try to process the information given during lecture AND write it down, I miss about a minute or two of lecture. So, unfortunately, most of what I learn comes from re-reading my notes, not the actual lecture (unless the instructor utilizes active learning techniques).

Does anyone else still have this problem?