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Why do I teach? I teach for the joy that comes when I see "the light come on" in a student's eyes. I teach for that moment when a student says, "now I understand!" I teach for those days when I receive a phone call or an e-mail from a graduate, thanking me for helping them to learn skills that have proven useful in real life. I live for the day—there was one of these recently—when a graduate who is in a MBA program at a prestigious school calls and says, "I'm way ahead of the others in my group." Or when I receive an e-mail thanking me for the fact that, at Mount Vernon Nazarene University, we really are a Christian institution, and we have integrated that into our classes. I live for graduation day, when I see heartfelt thanks, mingled with relief, as I shake the hands of graduates after they cross the platform.
There are certain classes that I love to teach. Among these are Ethical Leadership (the first course in our MBA program), any strategic management class, Organizational Behavior, and Entrepreneurship. I love these classes because they are relevant to the students, and because I see growth happen in the students while in these classes.
For example, in our undergraduate entrepreneurship class, I require the students to conduct an extensive structured interview with an entrepreneur in the community. At the close of the course, I ask the students whether, as a result of these interviews, they are more or less likely to become an entrepreneur themselves. Many enthusiastically indicate that they are more ready; others indicate that the experience convinced them that they are not well suited to become entrepreneurs. In either case, significant real-world learning has occurred, and I go home fulfilled.
As I have gained experience in teaching, my teaching methodology has gradually become more student-centered. It has become more andragogical than pedagogical. I have learned how to make students responsible for their own learning, while getting them to learn even more. In the process I have become a better teacher, and my students have become better students.
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