Hey Kadie. I loved reading your thoughts this week and totally agree with you. I too used to think that everyone I looked up to was perfect, I also thought that the people that went on to get PhD’s were geniuses and I wasn’t so that was never going to be for me. It wasn’t until I was getting my masters that I realized a PhD was even potentially an option for a non-genius like me. It’s so funny to look back and see how different our perceptions of people are when we reach the level we once looked up to and realize, we are all just regular human beings. 🙂

I really enjoyed reading your post. I think a lot of the debate you bring up stems around how to define education. Because if we think of it as existing only in the classroom setting then I totally agree with you, that you can’t get the humanist aspect all the time. But if we think of a more broad definition of education then I would agree it can humanize us through the actions that you suggest, like service.

I wish we had approached this idea during the semester. I feel now that as we are approaching finals for undergraduates, educators really treat groups of students as an entity, not as people. The class that I am a TA for has had really conflicting results on tests so far this year, and we have had a host of problems from designing the test, to the specific learning goals, and how each of us are approaching the class. Lately my professor is really attached to final grades and how the outcome is going to look (on graduating seniors) and those who we are suggesting that they repeat the course. At this point we have lost the idea that our students are people and we should be trying to get all of them to pass this class. There are students that no matter what would have passed this class, and there are those that no matter what would not pass this class, including some who are already on their second try at the material. I think that remembering that our students are people and those people have educational needs and feeling themselves at the beginning of the semester would leave us in a better spot than we are at right now.

I totally agree with the earlier comments, you integrate emotion so well into this blog post. Your writing is so easy to read because it has emotion and it’s not dry at all. I really appreciated reading your post this week.

In reading your post, I was reminded of the full quote that I am currently using for my teaching statement that starts “the mind is not a vessel that needs filling, but wood that needs igniting” by Plutarch. We, as educators, need to know when we are engaging, but it is also the students who must reciprocate by challenging us as the educators. It is not enough for only educators or students to evolve, there has to be a happy medium that ignites someone’s passion.

LikeLike

Thank you Sogand for sharing your story which relates to many of us! I especially liked your first reaction towards the instructor online approach (considering him lazy); since sometimes it is really the case, that in the name of innovation and collaboration and due to their less-structured nature, students (an instructors) tend to waste a lot of time without any genuine take-home lesson! However, I definitely agree with you that memorizing obediently is very unlikely to be helpful in enhancing our personal knowledge and/or growth.

I agree that technology alone cannot lead to effective. (Point 3?) says learning can happen anywhere. I think that technology can help bring the world to students in the classroom. But an effective educator still needs to understand the nuances of technologies used. That means going beyond the surface-level interaction with tech.

Nice blog! I enjoyed reading your blog. I completely agree that if we want our student success, we as an instructor, need to guide them and help them to reach that goal.

Oof. That last line reads like poetry more than prose. I agree with the sentiment. I haven’t seen you in a teaching role, but your communication in seminar settings embodies an integration of emotions into “dry” fields. (Sorry if that upsets GBCB?) While integrating emotions is probably easier said than done, you both write and “do” emotions well. Sorry for the affirmation-esque comment. Your post just resonates with me; I think it’s because you poetically capture the difficulties faced by researchers and educators.

Many thanks for your post Shadi, I followed tour suggestion and watched Barry Schwartz’ talk (really interesting) , and liked his idea (and yours at the end of your post) of morality “That any work you do that involves interaction with other people is a moral work and any moral work depends upon moral wisdom!”