Exercise 2.1:
I entered the career of college teaching and research because….
I was 22. I wasn't entirely sure why I went to graduate school except:
1. I was thoroughly disappointed by my taste of high school teaching. I loved the students, but the other teachers were disconnected from the material, the students, or both.
2. I was told by more than one faculty member in English at my undergraduate institution that the average GPA in the content area of English was 2.5 -- that I was "better" than an Education major. I hated being told something like that, but I was (admittedly) frustrated by my Education classes. This reaffirmed my desire for "something more."
3. So, I went to graduate school, for the kind of colleagues (smart, engaged) I wanted in a teaching career.
I had no idea research was part of the gig in a professor, so that was not part of my choice. I just knew I wanted to teach with the best possible colleagues.
I wasn't sure I liked research until, like, my second academic job. I intentionally avoided research-intensive jobs when I first went onto the market. It wasn't until my second academic job that I realized that (a) being a good researcher makes me a better teacher and (b) I found writing rewarding. "Research" (as a solitary library activity done to solve problems that only mattered to rarifed academics) wasn't all that thrilling to me, but writing -- the construction of arguments of use for readers -- that was rewarding.
I now want to stay in the career of college teaching because…
This career has the highest level of autonomy and security of any I can imagine short of independent wealth. Every day, a significant portion of my work is self-directed. (I am reading this book because I want that self-direction to be more effectively deployed.)
And I can use that autonomy to do good work for my students, for my community, and myself, through teaching, writing, and community work.
No comments:
Post a Comment