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A letter in the mail
Master lessons from a humble professor
It was from a veteran professor who led a session at a teaching workshop that I attended a few weeks ago.
I didn’t know this until I later Googled him, but he’s a model teacher. Students adore him. He has a 4.8 out of 5 rating on RateMyProfessors.com, where students leave comments like the following:
Skipping class won’t be an option. Not because he has a strict attendance policy, but because you won’t want to miss one moment of his class. By far my favorite professor.
Best professor I had.
More than a teacher, he is a mentor, a guide for the subject and, more than that, he teaches you about life.
Those are just a few of the glowing praises.
I didn’t know any of this about him when I heard him tell his own story and then lead us in an activity on “inquiry-based learning.” I just knew he opened my eyes to new ways of thinking about teaching.
Weeks later the stories he told and the nuggets of wisdom stuck with me. I turned them over in my brain and used them as I put together lessons.
