Some Cardinal Rules of Teaching

1.     Be Organized.

If you want to impress your class, show up the first day of class with an outline that is comprehensive but not overwhelming.  I’ve seen faculty members show up on Day 1 with twenty-page outlines.  In my mind, this is overkill.  You’re not going to impress them.  If you need twenty pages to keep on track, fine.  But, don’t put his burden on your students.  On the other hand, I’ve also witnessed two-page course outlines that are so generalized; they are seldom worth the paper they’re printed on.  Somewhere between these two extremes, there’s a happy medium.  Think of your syllabus as a road map to get your students where they need to go. Maps usually provide multiple ways to get to your destination.  Just like your automobile GPS, you sometimes need to make adjustments in your journey.  So, too, is it with course outlines.

2.     Undergraduates Are Not Ph.D. Candidates. 

Being a freshly minted Ph.D. usually means you’ve come out of two or more years of intensive academic work.  You’re like a well-conditioned athlete…mentally ready to take on almost any academic challenge.  For most undergrads, their biggest mental challenge of the day is to wake up, get to the snack bar and find a hot cup of coffee.  In my mind, most of them are intellectually flabby.  You need to get them warmed up before you can start your conditioning program! Move slowly but firmly ahead.  A boot camp approach won’t impress them; only alienate them.

3.     Graduate Students. 

I remember my first graduate Reading Research class.  Fresh from my Ph.D. program, I was required to have a comprehensive knowledge of the past ten years of Reading research.  At the time, the Reading Research Quarterly published a yearly edition that summarized the major research investigations of the year.  I could cite study details that would bore individuals to death.  This knowledge was the expectation of my professors who composed my preliminary exams.  When I arrived on campus for my first teaching job, I thought it would be a good idea if my students also possessed the same knowledge.  While I wouldn’t call my class’s reaction a mutiny, I would say they were shocked and overwhelmed.  I had failed to realize that these people were full-time teachers coming back to take one course per semester.  They didn’t have the luxury of being full-time students.  I rapidly needed to adjust my student expectations.

4.     Be Willing to Negotiate With Your Students. 

I can’t tell you how many times over the years I’ve had to negotiate with my classes.  Even the most well laid plans can become unglued due to circumstances beyond one’s control.  Last year, for example, we had numerous campus closures due to freak snowstorms.  I had to readjust my student expectations.  At times like that, I like to involve my students in the decision-making.  They are more willing to work toward common goals when they have some buy in.  Besides, it’s fun to see how their minds work when faced with tough decision-making choices.

5.     Cover Your A__.

After almost 40 years of teaching, I’m happy to report I’ve met some of the most interesting and exciting people I’ve ever met while I’ve been standing in front of my classroom.  I still get cards and letters from individuals who’ve told me I’ve changed their lives.  The kudos are a real ego trip.  In that same time period, though, I’ve had two students who have made life miserable for me.  In both cases, I’m glad that I’ve kept all paperwork involved in disputes.  In one case, a student came back several years after I had her as a student.  When she was in my class, I bent over backwards helping her deal with some personal issues.  (Now that I think about it, the same was true for the second student.)  Imagine my surprise when I saw a sheriff at my office door issuing me a summons to appear in court.  It seems that the student had lost her teaching job and was now attempting to make me the scapegoat.  Thank goodness for a good college lawyer and my thorough job of record keeping and documenting everything.  Never in a million years did I think that something like this could happen to me.  When you consider the fact that some mental health experts contend that roughly 20% of the adult population suffers from some type of mental imbalance, I shouldn’t have been surprised.  The lessons:  a) Always CYA, b) let no good deed go unpunished.  I suppose two out of almost 10,000 students isn’t a bad batting average, though. 

6.     It’s Not Just Knowledge…It’s Attitude, Too.

One of my old colleagues and I used to spend many late afternoons in each other’s office discussing the ultimate goals of teaching and learning.  They were heady conversations where we picked and probed each other’s thinking.  In the end, we concluded that it wasn’t just about the content we intended to impart.  As important, if not more so, was the attitudes we wanted our students to develop.  He was a Math professor; I was a Reading prof.  In both cases, though, we wanted our students to feel good about what they had learned and we hoped that after taking our courses, they would continue to embark on the journey of learning our respective disciplines.  In the end, it’s all about the journey and not about the destination.