Thoughts on a New Semester

I've begun to formulate a rule about teaching students.

That is to say, I think I'm starting to figure this teaching thing out--not just in terms of how to present material, but who students are.

Here’s what I’ve figured out.

I've discovered that about 10% of my students are going to learn and be excited about the class no matter who’s teaching it. They’re motivated, they’re interested, and they’re not going to be able not to learn.  They do the homework not because they're afraid of getting a bad grade but because it sounds like they might learn something.  They come to my office hours to ask me questions not to manipulate or play me, nor because I'm the awesomest being they've ever met, but because they want to talk about ideas.  They're not always the smartest kids in the room (and some of them definitely aren't kids), but they're there to learn, and they manage to do it no matter who's doing the teaching.

I’m not there for them. They’re there for me, to put a little spring in my step, to give my tired eyes something to rest on during my fifth straight hour in the classroom, to make me smile when I'm tempted to let myself get grumpy about the job it is my privilege to do.

Another 10% are not going to learn, no matter who’s teaching. They’re determined not to be changed or to grow or to examine their mental lives for one single second.  They don't come to my office hours because they don't go to anyone's office hours.  They don't study for tests because they really don't care to know the material.  They may or may not be intellectually challenged--indeed, some of them may be quite smart, and some of them even earn passing grades.  But they are ruthless in their pursuit of non-learning, and it has nothing to do with me.

I’m not there for them. They’re there for me. The same way ulcers and traffic and rude telemarketers are--to build character.  To give me the chance to develop patience, which is one of a few virtues that can only be developed through pain.

The 80% in the middle? They’re who I’m there for.  I try to do the best job I can because of them.

Because my doing a good job might actually make a difference in their lives. They're the ones whom a good teacher can inspire, surprise, and motivate.  They're the ones who might find themselves investing more than they intended because of the good humor or effective communication or personal interest of the person at the front of the room.  They're the ones who look back on their college years as the most formative time in their lives because of, not in spite of, what happened in the classroom.

When I say that I teach to the middle 80%, that's whom I mean.

Class starts next week.  I'm trying to get ready for class, for the work, for the expectations, for the grading, for the extra activities, for all that it means to be A Professor.

But I'm most especially trying to get ready for the students--especially that 80%.