fred nickols (fnickols@ets.org)
Sat, 26 Jun 1999 17:30:08 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Sat, 26 Jun 1999 17:30:08 -0400 (EDT) From: fred nickols <fnickols@ets.org> Subject: What really matters in teaching
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I have been keeping an eye on the thread loosely indicated by the subject
line of this message and have decided to speak out.
One way of coming at the core issue is from the perspective of a
professional concerned with teaching and learning. Another is from the
perspective of a learner. Another dimension stems from age: adult or
child.
In reflecting on the matter, I thought back on the really good teachers
I've had in my life. I can name them in a very short list:
my grandmother
Ruth Heller, my 3rd grade teacher
the young women at the library
Ruth van Tuyl, my political science teacher in high school
Charles Dickens
Peter Drucker
It's a short list, isn't it?
What do they have in common? First off, I learned a great deal from them.
Second, they instilled in me a great sense of confidence in myself. Third,
they challenged me. Fourth, they taught me to love books and the knowledge
contained therein (especially those young women at the library). In a word,
they all taught me to love knowledge and learning. Dickens, of course,
taught me to fear ignorance. And Drucker? Well, bless his heart, he
taught me to persevere (he is the very definition of "role model").
There is no science in what I have just written -- and very little data.
But I sometimes think we make too much of what is a very natural process.
Learning has gone on for countless eons -- and will continue doing so --
regardless of our often vain efforts to influence it. Teaching, too, is as
old as the hills. It too is unlikely to change much.
All that aside, heark back to my exemplars and to the implications of their
practice. We might all ask ourselves these questions:
What have I done to instill confidence in those who would learn from
me?
What have I done to instill a love of the written word?
What have I done to instill a love of knowledge?
What have I done to challenge my students in ways they would
appreciate and honor in later years?
What have I done to raise awareness of the evils of ignorance?
And, finally, what have I done to demonstrate that I too can
persevere?
Answer these questions (and others) honestly, and teaching and learning, or
so I believe, will take on new meaning.
Regards,
Fred Nickols
Director, Research
Educational Testing Service [23-E]
Princeton, NJ 08541
Tel = 609.734.5077 Fax = 609.734.5590
e-mail = fnickols@ets.org
Views expressed are most assuredly the author's and not ETS's.
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