Jerry ZurekEveryone knows that good teaching is an art and Cabrini seems to produce many of these so-called “good teachers.” Students, when asked who were the good professors, were very quick to produce a set of criteria on what they believed made a college instructor special in their eyes.
Students felt that teachers who showed an interest in them and gave support were the better of most teachers. By creating intellectual stimulation in a classroom and developing interpersonal connections with their pupils, students are more apt to enjoy their classroom experience.
“Good teachers enjoy student contact and are more outgoing in and outside of the classroom,” Victoria Dever, a sophomore special education and elementary major, said. “Mostly all teachers are aware of what is going on within the classroom, but a good teacher has the ability to focus better on student’s responses and questions and they are the ones that students gravitate to,” Dever said.
It has been found that teachers who succeed best in the classroom are the ones that do not dictate and control, but take risks and allow the students to take charge of their own learning.
Cabrini breeds these kinds of teachers. Upon interviewing campus students whom they though made a good teacher, there were a variety of answers. One name that kept popping up was history/political science professor Dr. James Hedtke.
Krissy Mongan, a freshman psychology major, said, “Dr. Hedtke makes his class really interactive, and there is never a dull moment. He has the ability to personalize with his students and make them feel comfortable in his classroom setting.”
She enjoyed him so much that she wants to take more of his classes in the future. Another teacher that students seem to enjoy as well is English professor Barbara Hanes.
“Ms. Hanes encouraged me all throughout the semester and instructed me in a way that I will never forget. She loved her work and inspired me to love it as well,” sophomore Krystal Layne said.
Barbara Hanes is honored and surprised to be considered a favorite among students. She is thrilled to know that she has been a positive part of her student’s educational experience. According to her, teaching is one of the great unsung professions and she feels that so many people just don’t value the positive and lasting influence good teachers have on their students.
Education instructor, Professor Lelli, feels the same way as Barbara Hanes. She too was surprised and overwhelmed with the thought of being a favorite teacher. She credits her teaching ability to the professors she had as a student at Cabrini. If it weren’t for her mentors, she would not love the teaching profession as much as she does.
These Cabrini teachers are very humbled with the thought that so many students think of them so kindly. It’s the students that make these professors jobs enjoyable. Both teachers and students feed off of each other’s enthusiasm for learning, which makes for a happy balance.
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Posted to the web by Matt Schill
