Sunday, March 11, 2012

Holding on to the Joy in Teaching | Dissident Voice

Holding on to the Joy in Teaching | Dissident Voice:


Holding on to the Joy in Teaching

I am a tenured professor in a relatively stable university, which is quite possibly the best job in the world. I get paid well to read, think, talk, and write, and I have more job security than almost anyone I know.
Like many professors, I am critical of the increasingly corporate nature of universities. The conservative/neoliberal project of turning public schools into educational factories is also gathering steam in higher education, and there is much organizing work necessary just to protect what little space for critical thinking still exists.
But the longer I teach, the more I appreciate the privileges that come with the job, and the more fun I have. So, when I recently had to write a “statement of teaching philosophy,” I tried to reflect that gratitude and pleasure.
Statement of Teaching Philosophy: Pay attention, be astonished, tell about it
After years of research, I have developed a three-stage teaching method that breaks new ground in pedagogical