You Teach Who You Are

So finally, finally, this weekend, I had a chance to peruse my colleagues’ blogs (yay!) It’s been great fun to read all that you’ve written and shared, as I’ve gained a much better sense of what it would be like to sit in on your classes.

As faculty, we sometimes hear murmurs about classes and instructors before/after our own lectures, in hallways, during office hours, and in emails. And we certainly have our own impressions of colleagues, based on observations and past interactions. But there’s nothing quite like reading what you’ve written, as it “gives legs” to what students share.

You inspire me with your adventures (Chris, Charlie, Mark and Curtis), with your creative quests to continually re-tool your classes (Tina, Ruth, Erin, Sukey, Joanne), and to be the change you wish to see (Dave, Sal, Todd). And Jason, I so loved reading your experiences of being a mentor, a “yes you can” bridge for a first-generation college student. In fact, that may be at the very top of my list of what I most love about being a community college instructor.

Collectively, in reading through your posts, you all reminded me of something I first heard in my yoga teacher training program: “You teach who you are.” Sometimes a lasting impression is not so much the words we speak and write in our classes, but the meaning between the lines.

So this one is very short…a shout-out tribute to all of you. Thanks for being you. For being authentically you.

And because I'm finally seeing that tiny light, flickering off into the distance, signaling our storied end of the 9x9x25...here's Tiny Light from Grace Potter & the Nocturals (a native Vermonter, just like me)

                                                                        ###