On Teachers and Teaching Alexander, Anderson, Ball, Borleski, Bratton, Brode, Brown, Coleman, Fluno, Freimann, Howells, Jackson, Lyman, Maxey, Penrose, Rempel, Stevens. . . . Superb teaching and learning have always been the highest priorities at Whitman. Great teaching never just happens; it requires enormous commitment, repeated and studied experimentation, and it needs evaluation and affirmation. Good teachers are constantly learning, improving, growing, experimenting, and trying yet new approaches. It is exacting work. It is a continuous learning process. Whitman has been blessed with over a century of inspirational and exceptional teachers. Whitman does not have a Hall of Fame for its legendary faculty stars - yet most of those named above would comprise an excellent start for such a Hall of Recognition. Fortunately, Whitman's current faculty has dozens of outstanding teachers who are uncommonly good at arousing, prodding, inspiring, and dephlegmatizing our current students. The tradition lives. Great teachers give us a sense not only of who they are, yet more importantly, of who we are, and who we might become. They unlock our imaginations, our minds, our energies. They change lives. Great teachers pose compelling questions, assign challenging home work, clarify choices, explain options, teach us to reason, encourage independent scholarship, suggest possible new directions, and urge us to move well beyond our previous comfort zones. The best of teachers have an uncanny ability to step outside themselves and become liberating forces in our lives. Memorable teachers teach with a joy and passion and intensity that are contagious. They teach their subject - physics, psychology, poetry, politics, or whatever - as if it really mattered. And that's the key. They can get excited about their subject no matter how many times they may already have held forth on it. They vivify their subject and absolutely avoid ever becoming mechanical or dry. They push themselves just as they push their students and in the end their courses become memorable learning experiences. Most students, past and present, yearn for teachers and mentors who will light a fire under them. Teachers and leaders share a trade secret, says John W. Gardner, namely "that when they expect high performance of their charges, they increase the likelihood of high performance." Whitman faculty members know this well: hold students to high standards of precise thinking, rigorous analysis, and push them to question and creative reflection - and you increase the likelihood they will excel. Good teachers create a learning community in which their students challenge each other. These teachers encourage disciplined thinking and stress the importance of communicating with clarity, cogency, and force. They promote the ability to draw implications from research findings and the ability to explain findings to others. They teach, also, the variety of ways we gain knowledge of ourselves, society and the universe. Teaching and scholarship at Whitman these days are being transformed by new technologies that tremendously enhance access to data, interactive discussions, and sophisticated experimentation. The information highway has been a great boon for learning and teaching. Yet in many ways the job of the teacher is harder than ever. Information overload is constantly a problem. And learning how to harness all the advantages of the latest technologies for teaching and scholarship can sometimes be a full-time job in itself. Students at Whitman regularly celebrate the outstanding teaching and advising that take place here. In recent years, the following faculty have won special recognition awards saluting their outstanding teaching and advising: Dana Burgess (classics), David Carey (philosophy), Dale Cosper (French), Jan Crouter (economics), John Desmond (English), Keith Farrington (sociology), Susan Ferguson (English and general studies), Bob Fontenot (math), Tom Edwards (history), Mary Hanna (politics), Roy Hoover (religion), Tim Kaufman-Osborn (politics), Pat Keef (math), Jack Metzger (psychology), Tom Olson (PE and Athletics), Ann Paillotet (education), Jim Pengra (physics), Kevin Pogue (geology), David Schmitz (history), Laura Schueller (mathematics), Stephen Schvaneveldt (chemistry), Nancy Simon (theatre), Ted Stein (English), David Stevens (economics), Ron Takemoto (Japanese), Robert Tobin (German), Patrick Tyson (English), Skip Wade (chemistry), Jonathan Walters (religion), Debra DuNann Winter (psychology), and Paul Yancey (biology). Several others have been recognized in earlier years. Still others are equally deserving and will doubtless be recognized soon. Whitman graduate William O. Douglas many years ago wrote that "Whitman gave us the best teaching I have either experienced or observed anywhere. And I know that it is still strong in that tradition." That tradition most assuredly continues, and will continue. Back to the President's Homepage