Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Professors: The difference between good and great.

I had two classes last night. Two very different classes. The first one was okay. You can tell the teacher came straight out of the box with "getting to know you" exercises and flexed her Socratic muscles right away. She was into teaching, and spent time telling us how she's been a life long teacher and has taught every age. She also went over all the mundane details of the class, start times, end times, etc. She was a teacher, through and through. Didn't get me excited about property, but you can tell she loves to teach.

The second class? Con law. Taught by someone who lives, breathes, and loves the Constitution. He loves it enough to carry a copy with a torn off cover that's seen better days rolled up in his back pocket at all times. You can tell, that even after teaching it for years, he's fascinated by the document and how its interpreted and how it plays out in today's world. He talked about wanting us to have a curiosity, and a real thirst for learning and understanding the constitution and the role it plays in our lives. He didn't come out with any ice breakers, and barely talked about his syllabus, but spent the time sharing his passion for the Constitution with us, and in turn, it made us excited to get into the material.

The difference between the two professors? I'm intrigued by Con Law, and don't really care about Property. To see someone have such a passion, such a thirst and fascination with the material can't help but spark that kind of reaction in students. To see someone who loves to teach, but isn't excited about the material? It's just another class with another professor. So, so far? Looking forward to con law, not sure where I stand with Property. We'll have to see how today's classes and the rest of the week go before I pass any real judgments.

2 comments:

  1. I can totally relate to this. It's odd how cookie cutter teachers aren't the memorable ones-- it's the quirky one who's itching to share his passion for a subject with his/her students.

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  2. That's exactly the reason I want to be a professor, to inspire students to want to learn! When's the next update? :(

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