After reading the multitude of comments to Michael and Paul, and the few that have appeared for Brooks, I have the feeling that we may be flogging a dead, er, post.
Not to join hands and have everyone sing kumbaya, but even with all the opinions posted by both students and faculty, I think there is far more common ground than not:
Both students and professors want – with apologies to Aretha Franklin and Rodney Dangerfield – respect. Of course, it’s a two-way street and it has to be earned.
Everyone acknowledges that there is a body of material to be learned (although we might differ on how to go about in teaching it and learning it).
Many seemed to think it made sense to set out all the groundrules at the beginning of the class (so maybe contracts, as usual, do provide the answer).
Finally, I don’t think that professors want to be disciplinarians, and I don’t think students want discipline. Professors should set out reasonable rules, and students should do their best to follow them. Or, to quote Austin Powers, “Oh, Behave!”
This all sounds simple writing it down; practicing it is difficult. Hard, hard work goes into developing a good classroom rapport. Class goes better for everyone when there’s trust, respect, and preparedness all around. (Not to mention, it puts the prof in a much better mood when grading those stacks of exams at the end of the semester).
It’s still a work in progress for me. But that’s why it’s important for new professors to go to teaching workshops, discuss issues and concerns with colleagues, and get insitutional feedback. My mentors at Cumberland taught me how to teach, and I (and by derivative action, my students) are thankful for all that help.
Posted by Miriam Cherry on October 8, 2006 at 11:17 PM