Today is the last day of the school year, completing ten years of college teaching for me. I thought I might reflect back on that with a list of things that I, as a teacher, have learned. Those who have taught for any significant amount of time won’t find any surprises here, but I know that some of my readers are new or aspiring teachers, and perhaps some of my thoughts can spur yours. I am not pretending that I apply all of these effectively, but I do believe in the value of these principles.
1. Love what you teach. Students can tell if this is your job or your passion. If it’s not your passion, make it your passion or move on. You can make it your passion by studying it more, seeing its relevance more, and dialoging with others more.
2. Tell them why. Tell them why you’re teaching what you are. Tell them why you give certain readings and assignments. If not, they may think it’s because you simply need some kind of evaluative measurement. And if that is true, find something else. There is too much that needs to be taught that no one needs to waste a single assignment. But they need to know why, because they may not be able to figure it out. Even when you tell them, they may not believe you, but at least they’ll recognize that you believe you have a reason for everything.
3. Be clear. This is especially true with instructions. Students are like us – easily distracted and forgetful. You can treat them like adults and also explain things clearly. Tell them they will be held responsible and then do so.
3. Challenge them. They don’t always like the process, but they like the result. They love to have a paper they can be proud of, an exam that reflects lots of learning. Those who don’t probably don’t belong in college; don’t cheat the ones who do because someone whines.
4. Don’t be boring. Being boring is more than just the tone of your voice. You are boring
if you are reading off a page to them, and you are boring if you’re giving them blanks to fill in. You are more likely to be boring if you are tired.
5. Give them pictures. I believe the old adage that a picture is worth 1000 words. Teaching drives me as a photographer, not the other way around. The Pictorial Library and Historic Views series exist because I need millions of words for my classes. You can describe with words and every student will get a different picture in his/her head. Use a picture and you’re less likely to fail to communicate.
6. Make them know it all. Students learn 10% when they listen and take notes, and 90% when they study for the test. Make the test easy and they’ll study light and remember little. Of course, if your subject doesn’t matter, make it easy.
6. Mix it up. Have a contest, play a song, get a few students to act it out, hold class outside. Sometimes if I want to really throw them off, I let class out a few minutes early.
7. Give them a little extra. A little bit goes a long ways and they appreciate it.
8. Pace yourself. Believe or not, students don’t like it when you don’t get to the end of the subject matter at the end of the semester. Being long-winded on an early subject with the result that a later subject gets skipped is not fair to the subject or to the class.
8. Stop teaching. When the class period is over, your time is up. I didn’t learn this as a teacher, but as a student. Students have a limit and, for some, it’s before the class period is over. For the rest, it is when the class period ends. When you go long, no one is listening. Save it for next time.
9. Lie a little. You can give a class a hard assignment and tell them that it is easy and they will all be frustrated. Or you can tell them that it is absolutely brutal and that they will likely fail, and then it won’t seem so bad to them. I do this not only for class assignments but for hikes. They get to the top and say “that wasn’t so bad,” but I know good and well that they would be cursing my name if I hadn’t prepared them for Everest. Morale matters and creating the appropriate expectations is vital to that.
10. Love them. Not as a gimmick to get your message across, but because you’re not doing this for money or prestige but for them.
