Thanks for sharing your story, the Flint Water Study team has done some amazing work over the past year. I agree with you– I don’t think ethics can be emphasized enough, especially in engineering education. There should be an ethics module in every class, from engineering to english to history.
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Thanks for this totally honest post. A lot of what you are saying is stuff I think about ALL the time. I often think that high school and below should be for “general knowledge” and college/grad school should be more focused on your specific discipline. And I can say for a fact that I learned a lot more in my internships than in most of my classes (even though ironically, I am no longer in the field where I interned).
I suppose having general courses, such as Medieval Lit, helps with those students who are still trying to figure out where they want to end up (which is a lot of the student population).
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What a weird episode of Black Mirror. I can definitely see why you thought of it. Its basic message is that computers/any type of artificial intelligence cannot substitute for human minds. It might come close, but isn’t the same
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Thanks for sharing your thoughts in this post. I absolutely agree that so often classrooms seem to be the teacher talking to the class, instead of talking with. I can see why this is a lot easier for most, but its not conducive to creating a healthy learning environment. Exploring different pedagogical methods is key if you want to make true change in your students.
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I really enjoyed reading this post, and it really helped put the act of teaching into perspective. Discussion is super important and invaluable in a classroom setting, and can help students think in a more comprehensive manner.
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I enjoyed reading this post, and I can definitely relate– I can’t say I had a very diverse, exciting childhood, but when I studied abroad, it really expanded my perspective of the global world.
I think, as you say, it’s really important to remember that true diversity change takes time and patience. Everyone is different, and everyone adjusts at different speeds.
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This post brings up a really good point about being young and professional at the same time. I hadn’t thought about the name question until just this semester actually, when I started advising students in my department, and some of them are actually OLDER than me. Pretty awkward. I always have them call me by my first name, but I can absolutely understand wanting to be called something more professional. Since you have both Ms. Hotter and Ms. H on your card, do you get called both evenly?
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Thanks for your honest post. I can absolutely relate– its hard to be an introvert and subsequently be in a teaching role. But, as you said, you need to identify your strengths and weaknesses and build upon them. Sometimes weaknesses, such as anxiety, can be turned around in a positive way. For instance, you can take a few minutes before class to do breathing exercises, and this might help you mentally prepare and reflect on the upcoming class. Just an idea!
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This post is really easy to relate to. I had a similar experience in my undergrad, and it was often the required “Gen Ed” classes that were exactly as you described– full of trivial facts that don’t look at the big picture. Often a professor is tasked with teaching something they might not love themselves, or even know much about. However, in situations like these, if a professor were to step back and show the class the whole picture of what they are teaching, it is relatable to more students. Explaining WHY something is important to learn is just as important as learning it in the first place.
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Cool video! Like the above comment says, it is important to incorporate multiple teaching methods in a course to create a hybrid learning course. Lectures work for some; lectures don’t work for others. But I can relate to what you said about learning the most when you struggle with the information itself, and there is absolutely value in learning from someone who has real world experience vs talking only theoretically about something.
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