I most definitely agree. I think we can all get bogged down by our goals and the steps needed to reach them that we often forget why we are doing them in the first place. It seems like good practice for us as future professionals, in academia or otherwise, to have the reminders we can draw on in times of need to refocus ourselves if we get off track.
Author: Mary Nedela
Comment on professionals are still human beings by Mary Nedela
I think we can use this enlightenment we all experience and use it to change the dialogue in our classrooms as well. Highlighting our imperfections and failures is crucial modeling for our students. And it can also be the foundation for providing a safe space for our students to own their imperfections and failures. As beginning professionals, I think we fall into that trap of wanting to be perfect ourselves even if we might realize no one is perfect- we must also remove the expectations of perfection from ourselves to be effective teachers.
Comment on professionals are still human beings by Mary Nedela
I think we can use this enlightenment we all experience and use it to change the dialogue in our classrooms as well. Highlighting our imperfections and failures is crucial modeling for our students. And it can also be the foundation for providing a safe space for our students to own their imperfections and failures. As beginning professionals, I think we fall into that trap of wanting to be perfect ourselves even if we might realize no one is perfect- we must also remove the expectations of perfection from ourselves to be effective teachers.
Comment on Avoiding Complacency by Mary Nedela
As with several others here, I completely relate to this feeling. It seems every semester I run into this issue to some degree. And I know my students bear the brunt of it, especially when it comes to my grading. It most definitely takes effort to combat the natural urge to “just get through it” or the “survive” rather than “thrive” mentality. I was thinking that as future professors, we might begin to think about the strategies we can put in place at the beginning of semesters to minimize the impact or urge of complacency at the end. For me, that might me decreasing the workload of my students, therefore, myself when it comes to grading- making assignments more meaningful, but fewer overall. What might that mean to the rest of you?
Comment on Paulo Freire & Bell Hooks….educators I can stand by…..and an ode to Linda Brown….. by Mary Nedela
Transparency regarding politics in the current political climate is certainly dangerous territory. I can’t help but feel that some of us liberal folk (lol) are somewhat hypocritical at times regarding this transparency. I often hear jokes about republicans, or conservative politics more generally, around campus, and sometimes in classrooms. Yet, when a graduate instructor on our very own campus is found to have far-leaning conservative thoughts in his personal life (and I will admit- I do not know the extent to which this infiltrated his classrooms), there is a call to have him removed from his teaching duties. This just has me thinking…how much is too much to share? Where is the line? Are college campuses really so liberal that we can’t tolerate other views? Isn’t this what we are trying to avoid altogether, this intolerance of other views? Now don’t get me wrong, I personally cringe at several conservative ideas. But, academically and intellectually I feel as though we should be open to discussions on these ideas and topics, thus they need a platform too. Brings me back to the question: Where is the line for inappropriate conversations in the intellectual sphere?
No clue if this is making any sense….I think I’m just rambling at this point. So, here I’ll stop!
Comment on Teachers and Learners – Critical Pedagogy by Mary Nedela
In addition to being open to learning while teaching, a related concept I feel is very important as an instructor is to be open and honest about what you DON’T know. For the past few years, I have told each of my classes that while I know a fair amount about several topics related to the course, I don’t know everything. It’s just not possible. I start the course this way, then reiterate it when I am asked a question I really don’t know the answer to. I then pose the question back to the class, prompt them to research, or research myself and bring the information back to the class. I am fully aware that some students might find this off-putting, and make assumptions about my competency as a teacher given my age and gender (which unfortunately is a reality). However, I know that I am modeling critical thinking skills in this process and that some students will pick up on this. At the end of the day, it certainly humanizes me to the students and perhaps gets them more actively engaged in their learning.
Comment on Curiosidad! Educación! Libertad! by Mary Nedela
In addition to learning names, I think it can be very powerful to try to remember (as much as possible) the interests of students, or the potential careers they desire. You can personalize the content them, thus getting them more engaged as well. I experience that in my graduate classes, with my professors framing content (like statistical concepts, for example) within my research interests. I truly feel this should happen more in undergraduate classes to help them wrestle with the content more meaningfully.
Comment on “When we focus on others, our world expands” by Mary Nedela
I love your connection here, and I couldn’t agree more. We are an inherently self-centered society. We are taught to strive and do whatever it takes to make that happen, which often means putting yourself above others. Now, I must say as a therapist I most definitely advocate for self-care and being able to support yourself….but putting your self first is what enables you to be able to give yourself to others; to be empathetic, like you said. It is so crucial that we put ourselves in others’ shoes (as much as we can possibly know) so that we can begin to feel what it might be like. What I find myself struggling with in today’s political climate is getting people to care about other people (which I could go on and on about, but I won’t do that here!). As an instructor, it can sometimes be hard to empathize with students who can be incredibly frustrating. Even more difficult at times is when students share inappropriate biases of their own towards a topic. Those students deserve empathy too, but it can be incredibly hard to give them that if they are perpetuating negativity in the classroom. Self care in these instances becomes incredibly important to manage our own reactions towards students.
Comment on Can discomfort be taken seriously? by Mary Nedela
I, too, have had the mistaken thought that STEM fields don’t have to deal with these types of uncomfortable conversations. For me it comes from a somewhat envious state. I teach in Liberal Arts, so we are always having these difficult conversations, and it becomes exhausting after a while. I appreciate your perspective here, and it serves as a reminder that if we want change, we all need to work together. That means as many people across all fields should be engaging in these conversations. I think we need to work through our own discomfort with making people uncomfortable, recognize our own triggers that can make us defensive, and just start the conversations. As instructors, if we are having these conversations in all of our classes across all fields with our undergraduates, making them uncomfortable in safer settings, just maybe they will move on in their careers being braver and standing up for what is right.
Comment on Teaching as controlled improvisation by Mary Nedela
I love that you highlighted improvisation as a key skill to have as a teacher. I could not agree more. Especially about the not panicking part! For many first time teachers, it is so scary to be in front of students, feeling the need to convince them you have the information they need to take knowledge from the class. I also practice “I don’t know everything” because that makes me human- and also relieves the pressure on me to have all of the info. But that is definitely a scary admission for some people, especially depending on their social identities.
