Excelling at Teaching

HS #50 2019.9.12

Excelling at Teaching

Anyone know the name Dan Gable? He was an Iowa State University two-time NCAA Division I national wrestling champion and Olympic gold medalist with a college record of 117-1 (he beat the guy the next year). I remember Gable not so much because of his record or because we share the same alma mater, but for something he once said. After becoming the wrestling coach at rival University of Iowa, he commented that he got more satisfaction from training others to wrestle than wrestling himself. 

Amazing!  A 117-1 Olympic gold medalist gets greater satisfaction from training others.

I can relate - just a bit. My success as a teacher doesn't compare to Gable’s, and being chair of an academic department is not training others as much as facilitating "iron sharpening iron" as we all work to improve. However, I share his pride and sense of accomplishment when department members succeed in their teaching. 

So it was a high point of my academic life recently when I wrote and read a citation about a colleague who won the Teacher of the Year award at Davenport University. The citation contained a student quote: “You are the best math teacher I’ve ever had.  The thing that ignited my passion and curiosity is the realization that everything contains math at its core. Once you dig deep and find the math, it gives the most amazing feeling in the world.”

What causes that sort of thrill from students? Such comments are certainly the best award or reward a teacher can receive. Good teachers are passionate about their discipline and pass that love and excitement on to others. If the goal of higher education is to produce life-long learners, then sharing one’s love of the subject is perhaps the single most important thing a teacher can do. 

Another Davenport colleague recently found and shared this quote from the American writer, Alice Rollins: “The test of a good teacher is not how many questions he can ask his pupils that they will answer readily, but how many questions he inspires them to ask which he finds hard to answer.” Yes. Yes. Yes. 

Ironically, my high school physics teacher passed this test, but unfortunately he viewed it as a sign of weakness. I would ask him questions to which he could have legitimately said, “Good question – I don’t know – let’s explore that together.” But instead he made up answers that were clearly wrong. With a little shame, I admit that I once brought a piece of paper to him on which I had written, “I don’t know” and asked him to read it. Knowing me and wary of some trick, he refused. Then he asked the reason for my request. I explained that I thought he was afraid to say those words and just wanted to check.  Score one for Pennings.

Yes, the best teachers are those who love the subject so much that they themselves are lifelong learners, and they share the experience with their students. Indeed, I challenge my colleagues to be engaged in mathematical research not because they will necessarily find some new theorem, but so that they can identify with their own students in the challenge and frustration of learning. Einstein once received a letter from a young girl complaining about her problems with math. He replied, “Do not worry about your difficulties with mathematics. I can assure you mine are still greater.” That’s good mentoring. 

However, the pinnacle of teaching is the ability to motivate ALL students to excel. That’s a very high standard – one I have not personally attained. 

One teacher who has come close is a recent acquaintance, Luke Wilcox, statistics teacher at East Kentwood High School. Luke was the 2017-18 Michigan Teacher of Year.  EKHS is the most diverse high school in the state, yet Luke’s class scored better on the AP test than the east coast preparatory class of his idol – the author of the textbook he uses. His explanation? He takes personal responsibility to motivate his students. 

 Just some of his ideas: He exchanges student-teacher contracts detailing mutual expectations at the beginning of the year – he can alter theirs, they can adjust his. He greets them all personally when they enter the classroom. On and around his desk he has trophies and ribbons for his various athletic victories – ANYTHING to model to his students what it means to excel. Fascinating. 

The best part of being a teacher: there is always more to learn.