Course Design for Middle-Aged Professors

As I have mentioned before, college teaching is an unusual profession in that most of us have received very little training in how to teach.  Graduate school focuses largely on doing original research (writing a dissertation that will hopefully become a book) and attaining a certain level of knowledge in several historical fields.  Of course that knowledge can be passed on once one starts to teach.  But very few of us are trained in the art of teaching itself, how that knowledge is to be conveyed.  Who has not suffered through a lecture from a brilliant professor who knew a given subject backwards and forwards but who did not have a clue--or any evident interest in--of how to convey that knowledge.  Or perhaps you are fascinated by the lectures or readings and then surprised to learn that the final exam bears little relation to what you studied.

Given the above, it has been exciting and humbling to learn more about course design, how to think about teaching from a student's point of view.  The key principal here is alignment.  Start by deciding what skills you want your students to learn, then align the rest of the course behind those skills so that every aspect of the course contributes to acquiring those skills.  Those skills may need to be learned gradually.  If, for example, your ultimate goal is for students to write a sophisticated essay that is supported by diverse evidence and is sensitive to counter-arguments, then break that daunting task into smaller components.  Make sure that everyone knows how to write a clear thesis statement.  Then work on supporting that thesis with evidence.  Then move on to incorporating or addressing counter arguments.

Most professors have very sophisticated research plans.  Few of us approach teaching with the same thoughtfulness.

Why Writing, Like the Rest of Life, Is So Difficult

I have a lot less energy as a researcher and writer than I once had, and my memory isn't as keen as it used to be.  But I have learned how to work much more efficiently than when I felt compelled to write down every shred of evidence I came across on a given topic.

Part of what I have learned is that it is very difficult to tell what a book is about until one has started to write it.  Dr. Robert Wiebe had told me this back in 1982 when I was a graduate student at Northwestern: you don't really know if you have a sound argument until you write it down and try to support it. The evidence often turns out to be different from what one expected, and the process of reading one's notes and trying to make sense of them often opens up new and very unexpected insights.

I was recently reminded of this discomfiting fact while working on a chapter of what I hope will be a book on the history of how Americans  have viewed Africa.  The chapter is on the decade after World War II, and most of the Hollywood movies and articles in popular magazines depicted white (usually male) quests in wild Africa.  But a few white writers approached Africa with much more empathy and respect for its humans, and all of these writers were women.  Louise Stinetorf, for example, wrote quite a popular novel, The White Witch Doctor, which became a Hollywood movie that largely obscured her African-centric message.  But in going over my very rough first draft, I noticed this gendered pattern in how Africa was interpreted and found that she had written other books (another adult novel and some children's stories) about Africa that had the same message.  So Stinetorf--and several other women like her--are going to take up many more pages in my manuscript than I had anticipated, and they will change the trajectory of its argument.

Writing is difficult, like the rest of our lives.  We would like to be always sure of where we are going and how we are getting there.  But our maps are smudged and faulty; we must continually stop and reconsider our route and our purpose.  But if we can live with these uncertainties we are rewarded with delicious surprises.

Reflections on 20 Years of Marital Bliss

OK, the title is meant to be a bit ironic.  Wendy and I have weathered many battles and a few crises over the past two decades.  But our marriage has taught me a lot about the importance of respect when dealing with others.

Wendy and I are very different from each other.  I am more drawn to abstract causes, she is more concrete.  This sounds innocuous enough.  But it poses some daunting challenges for how we spend our time and money--a couple of issues that tear many marriages apart.

What keeps us together, I think, is that we respect both each other and each others' priorities--even as we pursue somewhat different ones in our individual lives.  And I think the fact that someone we respect so deeply (Wendy is the most amazing person I've ever met) disagrees with us on some important issues reminds us that our individual points of view are very likely to be flawed and incomplete.

Of course this insight can be exported from our marriage to the many other relationships that we are part of.  Each of us encounters and works with people with diverse beliefs and priorities, points of view that can be viewed as threats to our own--or as opportunities to become both kinder and wiser.

Congratulations to Rashid Hafisu!

One of Yo Ghana's most dedicated teachers is working his way toward becoming Ghana's Teacher of the Year!

I first met Mr. Hafisu a year and a half ago, where he teaches: Accra Girls Senior High School in Accra.  Although he was expecting a guest who would speak to a group of students about French, he and the students quickly adjusted to the fact that I was instead looking for students interested in exchanging letters with students in the U.S.  Mr. Hafisu has been a wonderful host on my several visits to his fine school and has done an exemplary job publicizing and supervising our letter exchanges.

Mr. Hafisu has already won the award for his district and is now being considered on the regional level.  (Ghana has ten regions, and of course Greater Accra is the most densely populated.)  He writes that: "The criteria includes the impact of the teacher on the community as well as other human voluntary services."  Ghanaian teachers work very long hours for modest pay, and Mr. Hafisu is one of the most inspiring and dedicated ones I have met.

Yo Ghana! at Africafest at PSU on Saturday Afternoon

Yo Ghana! will be at Africafest on the South Park Blocks at PSU on Saturday, July 20.  We'll be: talking to people about our projects; recruiting schools, teachers, and groups of students interesting in writing letters to and raising some money for schools in Ghana; selling t-shirts, bags, cards, and stickers to support that work.

Africafest will of course offer much more than vendors: good food, music, and company.  Portland has a large and growing community of people from Africa.  Occasions like Africafest offer them the opportunity to gather and the rest of us a chance to sample a bit of the continent's rich culture and warm friendship.

A special thank you goes to Dr. Kofi Agorsah of PSU, who among his many other duties finds time to help organize this festival.  Dr. Agorsah is also a Yo Ghana! board member and is working to link us to a school in the Volta Region, in the town where he spent so much of his young life.

Yo Ghana! at Delta Park July 12-14

We'll be at the PCU soccer tournament this week-end, starting bright and early Friday, selling t-shirts, posters, bags, and cards to support Purity Preparatory Schools first-ever library.  Some of their students are shown below, modeling the shirts created by Elizabeth Fosler Jones, co-founder of Yo Ghana! and the President of the group of students supporting the school.

Elizabeth also led the charge last night at Burgerville, where we made about $450 for the school.  Thanks to all of you who came out!  And if you happen to be in the vicinity of Delta Park in the next three days, please stop in--or check out our website's Paypal button:  http://yoghana.org.  I used to be uneasy asking people for money, but contrasting the extreme comfort in which most of in North America live with the lives of hard-working students who don't have regular access to books has helped me to overcome such reservations. . . .

Yo Ghana! at Burgerville on Thursday, July 11, 6-9 p.m.

The Burgerville on MLK near the Portland Convention Center has graciously offered to donate 10% of their receipts for next Thursday evening to Yo Ghana!

We'll be there from 6:00 to 9:00, serving good food, accepting donations, and talking about Yo Ghana's project to help Purity Preparatory School of Ghana build their first library.  Please stop by for high-quality fast food and a great cause.

Here's a photo of the school, taken during my visit of last September: