I Want to Be a Teacher

CHAPTER 9
ADVICE TO PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS

I like to give advice to prospective and new teachers. That is because I think that I have knowledge and wisdom that can help them be successful in the classroom. Today I tell prospective teachers that they must learn how to study. Different people learn from different ways of using their senses. I think that students must determine how they learn best and apply these learning skills in college. No one tells you how to or when to study. You must learn what works best for you … and learn it quickly. More specifically, I tell students that when they read a chapter, they should look at the headings of each section and turn those headings or statements into questions. As they read, they must keep the question (s) in mind, and when they complete reading that section, they need to determine if they can answer the question (s). If they can, then they understand what the section intended to teach them. They should continue to use this strategy among others until they complete the chapter.

I have also told prospective teachers that they should visit the professor as often as possible and ask the professor to explain concepts they do not understand. Professors love for students to visit them. It makes them feel special and important, and they want you as a student to learn. I have found that the students who visit their professors on a regular basis seem to perform better in the classroom. In addition, by visiting the professors, students get an opportunity to find out what they will encounter on tests. While the professors do not reveal the exact questions on upcoming examinations, they will tell the students about the topics that the students should know and be able to explain. This gives students an opportunity to better study and prepare for the tests.

I agreed with Halmos (1987) when he said that he advised students to never attend a graduate program at the same institution where they earned their undergraduate work. I was surprised when I read his work because I myself had said the same thing to students at the universities in which I worked. Attending different universities affords students a different perspective on learning, and it also exposes students to different cultures. More specifically, I tell students that going to a different university provides an opportunity for them to meet new people, to learn from a different culture, to gain new views, ideas, and knowledge, and to increase their span of networking with different cultures. I think each institution has its own culture, and students who are pursuing a graduate degree should get to know the institution so that they can understand the culture before they begin the graduate program. I say that because when I decided to go to graduate school, I applied to one university, got to know it very well, and talked to others in the graduate education program. I learned very quickly that I would not fit in very well at that institution with that culture, so when I looked at American University in Washington, DC, and talked to faculty members, administrators, and other students, I felt very comfortable and decided that I would fit in very well. In fact, the college of education must have wanted me because the dean of education enticed me with a full fellowship to study educational administration. I was pleased with the offer, and I attended and did very well. Now I can honestly say that I am proud to be a graduate of American University. In addition, I encourage students not to take life so serious. Today students must study, network, meet with their professors, and socialize. They should take time to have fun, such as playing golf, tennis, chess, scrabble, and go dancing, to name a few. They should also socialize by going to parties, cultural events, churches, and maybe pledge a sorority or fraternity. I think that these kinds of activities give students an opportunity to socialize with a diverse group of young people who are similar to them. Once they leave college, they will never again be surrounded by such a large group of like-minded people. The world of work, church, sorority, and other social groups will not be as diverse once they complete college and begin their careers.

While I think pre-service teachers must be highly motivated and must also love teaching, they need a little time for themselves to relax, reflex, and share with other prospective colleagues.

I also tell graduate students that when they decide to go to graduate school, they should choose a topic for their thesis or dissertation very early. This will give them an opportunity to focus on that topic throughout their entire course load, especially in their doctoral program. For example, when I enrolled in graduate school, I decided that my research work would focus on gifted education. In 1984, when I enrolled in graduate school, gifted education was a hot topic, and gifted education programs had just begun to pop up in school districts around the country. So I choose gifted education, and every paper that I wrote centered on some form of gifted education. When I took a course in administration that related to the budget, my papers focused on designing a budget for gifted education programs. When I took a course in curriculum, instruction, and assessment, my papers for the course focused on curriculum, instruction, and assessment of gifted education programs. You get the idea. I did the same thing for each course, and by the time I completed all of the courses and had to think specifically about what I was going to do with gifted education, I already had more than two hundred reference cards relating to gifted education that I could use for my dissertation. I think that this strategy made my dissertation process much easier.

As a young teacher, I never did get too involved in politics. Although I voted as a Democrat in each election, I really showed my support after retirement when I worked on the Obama campaign in 2008 and 2012. I wanted him to win so that I could proudly say that I had lived long enough to see a smart, wise, intelligent, funny, loving, and charismatic young African-American man in the White House of the United States. Those teachers who did not get to know him as president of the United States should read about him. He was one of the best presidents of the United States.