April 28, 2022
A little-known secret around campus is that our professors were once students. Nervous, confused, and probably as hungry as we all are while sitting through lectures, here are their first experiences as professors and what tips they have to offer for students taking their courses.Humanizing Our Professors: Keith WestGeoscience Department: Marinette Campus
Professor West was fresh out of grad school when he stumbled through his first lecture as an exhibit curator for a small college museum in New Mexico. Unfortunately, he had some stage fright, relying on his notes to get him through a foggy memory and talking faster to make up for lost time. This resulted in a student’s dramatic reaction of flinging his pen over his shoulder, completely giving up on taking notes—not exactly a sign that things were going great. The next day, when he braved the class again to get something out of a storage closet, he spared them any painful anticipation of a second incident by explaining that he wouldn’t be teaching them again, as it was only a one-day opportunity. With a great deal of kindness, one student announced that, “it wasn’t that bad.”While not every first experience is a perfect one, learning is about getting back up and trying again. Luckily, the Professor did just that, and today he encourages his students to not just be spectators but to engage with their materials because it’ll only make the experience better. After all, asking questions and discussing lessons gives you the chance to explore things that wouldn’t have otherwise been taught to you. Instructors aren’t mind-readers. Students have to speak up to be heard. In addition to that, he wants students to know that while he organizes his classroom, it isn’t actually his course; it belongs to everyone in it. Again, your classes will proceed as normal unless you put the effort in to make them better or more enjoyable. Truly, words of wisdom for every class at UWGB, as students’ honest opinions are very-much welcomed by professors in every department and on every campus. Education, then, is definitely a team effort.