A reply to Barham and Clement. Mr. Barham wrote: "Are you so sure that your past educators did not deftly adapt to your learning style and that is why they had a great impact on you or that you yourself have not found success as an educator because you do this intrinsically?" He raised an interesting point but I think that the opposite is true; I learned how to adapt to my teacher's styles and learn from them instead of the other way around.
He also stated: “Perhaps you would prefer that the students were all the same; Orwellian automatons, not requiring any unique approaches for them as individuals. Seems to me you just want to protect your authority, either that or, in the context of academia, you take yourself way too seriously.” To quibble, “Orwellian automations” should read “Orwellian automata” (the plural of automaton, although Orwell never used automata in this works) and would more accurately describe some professors of mine instead of any of my students. I recognize that my students are individuals and that they have the individual responsibility of learning the material I provide; I have the responsibility to know the material, provide it to them in an interesting fashion and motive them to learn it. I do take every thing I do seriously although I also try to use humor in the classroom. As for “protecting my authority” I do need to protect my classroom from well-meaning interlopers spouting the latest academic fad who think that they know how to do my job better than I do without having the proof to back it up.
Mr. Clement also made some interesting points. He stated: "All students are not adept scholars. Some have limited vocabularies. Some are more attuned to the written word than the verbal. Some have attention deficits. Some do not know how to take notes. Some lack the ability to self edit, etc. For these students, emanating passion and the joy of sharing will result of a positive experience, but not in the acquisition of knowledge.”
First, it is my job to provide knowledge but my students’ responsibility to acquire it; you can’t force people to learn. Second, providing a “positive experience” in a classroom facilitates learning by motivating students to be interested in the subject matter, not to mention motivating them to attend class.
Later, he states: “…Do all of your students receive the same grade? Do they all receive passing grades?”
God, I hope not. Talent is not distributed evenly and students should get the grades they earn. Not all should pass because not all will be deserving of a passing grade, period. There seems to be a prominent misconception that we are in the business of saving inferior students from themselves; we are not, although if you want to make that your job, more power to you. The reality is that students need to be responsible for their own success…or failure.
