Teacher Creature

You'd think a professor on sabbatical leave would celebrate missing the first day of school.  But I spent a good chunk of the day helping students anyway. Go figure.  Nothing spectacular.  Just ordinary stuff like helping a former student with a med school application, or fielding a random phone call from another former student in trouble.  Helped  a new teacher in Daly City schools get on her feet.  Even in the cellphone store -- where I went to shop for new gear for my adventures in the blogosphere -- the young earnest salesperson ended up cornering me for advice on where to go next with his academic career for over an hour.  I recommended Foothill, of course.  No escaping it: I'm a teacher creature by nature (even, or especially, on a one-year sabbatical).

GOAL:  Use technology to bring teachers closer to students, always, always: never to push them away.

Comments

[Meera Parbhakar]

I LOVE this idea. I think that one of the best things about college (particularly community college) is that teachers aren't so scared to have a more personal relationship with their students. In high school, I found many teachers would get nervous when they felt they were developing person to person relationships with their students rather than teacher to student relationships. I don't know, maybe they were scared they were going to get sued or something. But anyway, I have found that thus far in my life, the teachers that have made the most impact on my life and who I have learned the most from were definitely the ones who knew me on a more personal level. The worst teachers I have had have been the ones who did not understand their students.

It would be absolutely fantastic to have every teacher write a blog once in a while. I alread feel like I know you (you being Dr. Scott) quite well, just by reading your blogs and what you have to say about my blogs. Being able to read what teachers think about different things and being able to react to those things would bring a whole new dimension to school that I think would be fantastic. I know that most people are more willing to learn and listen to teachers who they feel they know better, and who understand them better, and blogging would be a great way to do this. To be able to comprehend an educator's view on education would be priceless information. Wonderful epiphany, Dr. Scott!