Instruction Adventures

This reading was a selected chapter from a book, and I thought it was a very interesting read. The author is a professor who has had a long career teaching in higher education. He talks about identity and integrity, and defines the terms within the context of teaching. I was intrigued by the section where the author told the stories of two different scholars who both came from similar challenging backgrounds, but each had a very different experience upon entering the world of academia and these experiences shaped them into who they were as teachers. The author also talked about mentors and even shared about one of his most memorable mentors from his past. He talked about mentoring in the context of a cycle, how at each important stage of his academic and teaching careers a mentor had come along to help guide him. Then the point came when he was expecting the next one to come along, but they never did. He realized then that it was now his turn to be a mentor for someone else. I thought this was interesting because having a mentor plays a huge role in a person’s educational and professional development, and the cycle of first being mentored by others and then becoming the mentor put it in a perspective I had never thought of before. I myself have had teachers in the past that have greatly impacted me and I still think back on to this day. The author also discussed how many are called to teach not only through their mentors, but also through a particular field of study. Whatever the reason, the author emphasizes the importance of being passionate about what you are doing. Whether your passion is teaching or something else entirely, I think that having passion for what you are doing is an important part of living a fulfilled life.

Jennifer