My Philosophy of Teaching and Education

Bruce G. Stewart, Professor of biological sciences, murray state college, tishomingo, oklahoma

A Belief in the Value of Human Dignity: Fairness, Objectivity, and Caring. My best days as a teacher are those in which I maintain an awareness of the inherent human value of every student. Whether I feel like the student is trying to learn or not, I try to remember that he or she is doing the best they can do at that particular moment. With this in mind, I try not to judge the struggling student too harshly. I can still exhibit compassion while maintaining standards of excellence. I have found that my student evaluations reflect the reality that students can accept that my classes are extremely difficulty so long as I treat each student with dignity and fairness. Nothing alienates students more than an impression that a teacher is not fair. I do my best to give ample evaluation tools to objectively evaluate my students' performance.

A Belief in the Value of Knowledge. A powerful belief in the value of knowledge is the foundation of my love of teaching. However, simple knowledge without interpretive abilities is nearly worthless. Thus, I teach critical thinking wherever possible to help students develop that life-long skill that will help them in their careers, personal life, and social and political involvements. I have an equally powerful belief in the value of biological sciences and that is the basis for teaching in my particular discipline. That which is worth doing, is worth doing well. I approach my teaching with this axiom in mind.

A Belief in the Necessity of Desire and Hard Work as the Core Necessity in Learning. I cannot "learn" for any student. Clichés and wise sayings abound concerning the importance of self-motivation and work. “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him (or her!) drink.” “Faith without works is dead.” “The smallest action is worth more than the greatest intention.” The best I can hope for is to make material available to my students in an organized, thorough, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic way. It is up to them to do their part. Babying the student to the point of enabling juvenile or irresponsible study habits and other behavior is not only unjustified educationally, but deprives them of “tough love” lessons needed to succeed down the road. Years ago when I hauled hay (many summers!), I discovered that moving 1200 bails of hay to the barn required picking up one bale at a time. A field of hay that seemed endless would eventually be put in the barn a bale at a time. Learning is the same way. We must wrestle with one bit of subject matter at a time until we finally master the larger concepts. Hard work is the only way I know to do this, no matter how many fad teaching methods have come and gone.

A Belief in the Methods and Qualities of my Role Model Teachers. I have high expectations of my students, as did my role model teachers. One of these was the late B. L. Pannell (aka. The Goat behind his back!). He was my high school English and biology teacher at a tiny rural high school. In those days, long before exit exams and the like, he required that each senior pass a comprehensive English exam before graduating. Those who did, knew their English and graduated. Those who did not, did not graduate. Mr. Pannell had a passion for knowledge that I will never forget. It was special to get to read from his collection of National Geographics. It was inspiring to hear him read his favorite poetry aloud to us in class.

My high school basketball coach, Mr. Eldon Flinn, taught me how to achieve at a level far above my ability. He inspired me through his dedication and the gift of countless hours of after-hours practice with our team. He showed us that a bunch of scrawny, scrappy little boys could beat the big guys, and we went to the state finals our senior year. He taught us that every single person on a team is important, and that we could not make it without each other. Our starting five produced a high school superintendent, a high school principal, and lawyer (and now former judge), a successful rancher (and school board member), and a college teacher. If we could do those things, I know that my students are also capable of excellence, each in their own way.

Dr. William A. Carter, now retired from East Central University, inspired me to pursue my interest in biology in college. He was known as a stern, demanding teacher. In fact, my only "C" in a biology course was my first course, with him. He taught me that high standards were necessary to truly master the material. He took field trips often and was active in professional societies. He showed me what it means to be a dedicated biologist and that to best teach biology, one must be an active biologist.

Dr. William J. Matthews, my graduate major advisor at the University of Oklahoma, is another who has taught me by his example. He has been a productive researcher and teacher over a long career, and is still incredibly active. I have personally observed his dedication through countless hours, days, and years. He has shown me such admirable characteristics as integrity, excellence, dedication, and deep commitment to education and research at the university level.

Many others have influenced my philosophy of education, but the one common denominator amongst them is that they have integrity, the love what they do, they work very hard, and they have high standards and high expectations. I try to emulate these and other qualities I respect so much in those teachers and biologists who have taught me. I tolerate the dissenting opinions of others who have not had the benefit of developing such a sound understanding of education in the classroom, but my exceptional role models and my own personal experiences keep my own teaching philosophy sound.

A Gift of Personal Diversity. Of course, I have had my own constellation of professional and personal experiences that have influenced my personality and teaching. Some say I am a bit “different” and that is certainly true, even by my own evaluation. However, being different can be an asset if used in a positive way. I use my uniqueness to stimulate interest in the subject matter, to keep my students attention, and perhaps to compete with the flashiness of modern entertainment media. It is not an easy job these days when student motivation is often at a low. Students need to be exposed to diversity for them to develop the open-mindedness that is critical for learning. As the saying goes, "You can't graft a new idea on a closed mind." My experiences with the disease of addiction, for example, have helped dozens of students and/or their families and friends. Stereotypic thinking so entrenched in the thinking of many of our students (and others!) is broken bit by bit when the student learns that a teacher with long hair, Native American tattoos, etc. is an eminently qualified and professional biologist and teacher.

My Two-year College Philosophy: To Give Help and Guidance, But Not To Enable Mediocrity. One of the greatest injustices a teacher can make (in my opinion) is to water down subject matter in courses just to allow students to "pass." These students are then sent on their way with false impressions of their accomplishments and false hopes as to their preparedness. Students, no matter what their background, can begin at our two-year college "where they are." However, they must work hard to get to where they need to be!

The Nursing Program where I teach is a stellar example of how high expectations lead to successful nursing careers. I am continually in awe at how many under-prepared students can develop their foundation, enter the Nursing Program, and then pass their State Board of Nursing exams. They are to be commended! Students can rise to the occasion if they have the commitment to do what it takes!

I believe that my role as a two-year college teacher is to help my students as much as possible without lowering overall expectations. It is sometimes heart-rending to see some students struggle, but I cannot include my perception of them in the objective grading process. What I can do, however, is make myself available to help them. I can encourage them to use resources such as peer and professional tutors. I can direct them to counselors if they are having personal problems. I do care about their lives and happiness.

Depth rather than Breadth: The Research Agrees. My specific approach to developing subject matter content in my classes is guided by the phrase "depth rather than breadth." How I present the subject matter could be described by the phrase "variety in instructional techniques." I am rigorous in my expectations. Student performance is evaluated with a far greater than average number of exams, quizzes and other graded activities.

I believe that science education is important to all citizens not just for science majors. Thus, our non-majors BIO 1114 is just as important to me as the majors courses I teach! National Science Foundation Director Neal Lane (as cited by National Science Foundation (1997) states:

"A strong foundation in science and mathematics is not a luxury; it is a necessity...America needs a scientifically and technologically literate workforce in order to compete in the global marketplace; and all American students need a sound education in science and mathematics in order to compete in an increasingly demanding workplace."

I believe that science literacy in the United States is pathetic. Past Murray State College President’s Scholars research projects I have directed have shown that MSC and area high school students have some absurd beliefs about science. Furthermore, Marek and Rowe (1993) state:

"The crisis in science education is complex and pervasive. It is manifested by scientific illiteracy, negative attitudes toward science...., and the much-publicized low scores on standardized tests in science."

My long time philosophy of covering fewer topics in greater depth rather than trying to superficially cover more topics is consistent with findings of The National Science Foundation (1997), which reports:

"U.S. science and math teaching is a mile wide and an inch deep, when compared to our international competitors."

"American students and teachers are expected to cover more topics in math and science than their peers in other countries. Consequently, they don’t cover them in depth..."

My philosophy of integrating materials from a variety of sources and in my own unique way addresses one major problem in science education as described by Marek and Rowe (1993) who state the following based on a study by Harmes and Yager (1981):

"Perhaps the most telling fact about science in the common schools is that 90 percent of the science teachers use the textbook 95 percent of the time."

So there you have it! As you may conclude, I do have some reasons behind my teaching methods and philosophy. Like all human beings, I have my faults. Nevertheless, my personal goal is to do the best that I can do.