Thoughts on Teaching & Education
by
Tracey L. Bailey
1993 National Teacher of the Year
On his philosophy of teaching:
I believe there are at least three essential elements common to all excellent teachers: a deep concern and honest compassion for students; a knowledge and love of the subject matter; and a visible demonstration of energy, enthusiasm, and creativity in teaching methods.
If your students know that you care about them and have an honest interest in their concerns and well-being, they will trust you to lead them through their academic challenges. A phrase I often use in my classes (usually just before handing out more homework or a difficult assignment) is "Have I told you today that I love and appreciate you?! Wonderful! Now we have more work to do!!" My students have repeatedly responded to this by working above and beyond even my high expectations for them. It is not uncommon for a group of students working on a project to come back to school until 9 or 10 in the evening in order to produce a top-quality presentation.
Most teachers possess academic competence in their subject areas, but not all possess academic enthusiasm. Science is intrinsically fascinating to me, and I would rather study and explain science concepts than almost any other thing in the world. A student may come into my class thinking that physics or chemistry is difficult and boring, but because I am so contagiously fascinated about these subjects, my students can not help but begin to share in the excitement and interest. And once that happens, the door to learning is wide open!!
A strong, creative teacher must actively work to produce the best learning environment for the students using innovative methods, materials, and resources. Students' minds are fertile--they simply need the right kind of fresh ideas to be planted. I can still remember the magical, inventive demonstrations my high school chemistry teacher used to draw our attention into the world of chemical reactions.
On education issues and trends:
We are now involved in a national "revival of concern" and a call for responsibility for the future and the well-being of this country. Now is the time for the public attitude, momentum, and renewed sense of national responsibility to help drive true reform for improving the education of our children. Although the public may be ready for change and social responsibility, we have yet to truly "win a war" or actually move the public into action, support, and total involvement of parents, civic leaders, government and students to change our school systems.
We need to energetically help educate the public about the preeminent need for excellence in all our country's schools. We need to actively involve every stakeholder in designing and implementing educational reforms. And we need to be continually reminded of the vital, challenging role that each talented classroom teacher plays in achieving this goal.
It is critical that there be continuous attention to educational equity for all socioeconomic groups, multi-cultural education, and drop-out prevention programs. In addition, there is vital need for ongoing successes in partnerships with industry and other community resources.
On teaching as a profession:
My personal view of teaching is that it is one of the most intrinsically and extrinsically rewarding professions in the world. It is one of the few professions that allows you the potential to dedicate yourself to an academic discipline, to become an expert and perhaps a professional researcher in that discipline, while at the same time helping young people find and achieve that potential in themselves.
I can think of no career that is more personally challenging, nor one that is more personally rewarding than teaching. Many of my students are now pursuing pre-medical or engineering degrees. It is a joy to see them succeeding in college and in life with what they have learned in my classes.
Whatever method of measurement and accountability is used in the classroom, I still feel strongly that teachers are greatly responsible for the outcomes of their students. It would be very easy to focus blame on the problems of broken homes, learning disabilities, and poor foundations from earlier classes, but none of this fault-finding would help my students overcome their personal hurdles and succeed. If a student ever fails in my class, then I feel a personal responsibility. Although many other factors probably contributed to that student's difficulties, we dare not simply look to these factors as excuses and label any student unteachable or unreachable -- to do this would shortchange our profession and diminish our high calling.
