Why teach

The ever-popular NYTimes columnist David Brooks had a hit column a while ago called, “It’s not about you.” To summarize: the traditional sequence for recent college grads is to find yourself, and then go out and do something. As a counterpoint, Brooks suggests that life is about going out and doing something, and finding yourself in the process.

It made me think about my own dreams. I was recently browsing through OHSU med school’s blog and I saw they had a series entitled “Why I teach.” They were interviews with OHSU professors well-known for their commitment to teaching. It reminded me of my goal to mentor/teach, partly because my dream is to empower people who are passionate about their own dreams, but mostly so I can tell people what I think about life.

I attended a small liberal arts college where the professors deliberately chose a teaching-focused career, and now I attend a growing church that invests a lot of energy into developing leaders. Between the two, I feel like I’ve been spoiled. I can remember three professors from Kenyon in particular, that brought three different positives to teaching that I would love to emulate.

One was Chris Gillen, a biology professor I had for several classes. Despite teaching at Kenyon for years, he maintained a contagious enthusiasm during his 8 AM lectures that made it much easier to learn something, and actually stay awake.

A second was Joan Slonczewski, my research mentor who always went the extra yard to give her students experiences to move them forward beyond Kenyon. You could tell she just wanted to help.

A third was John Hofferberth, a professor I had for six grueling semesters of chemistry. The best part of Dr. H. was that even though he loved chemistry, he knew the students in his classes were not there because of their shared love for chemistry, but rather to excel at standardized tests. I admired his effort to prepare lectures, grade exams, and in whatever way train the students to get out of the classes what they needed.

My favorite part of all these great professors was that they understood their crucial role in the education process. They knew that whatever the students learned at Kenyon was not the ultimate goal of their education. But at the same time, they had developed a keen understanding for how to reach students, and help them get exactly what they needed out of Kenyon. Maybe for a pre-med student in Orgo, it was to excel on the MCATs. Maybe for a pre-scientist, it was getting hands on research experience as an undergraduate. Maybe for a confused 18 year old, it was simply to be enthuiastic about life.

Anyways, seeing these great professors has really inspired me to love mentoring. Working on all the med school applications, the most common question is: Where do you see your career leading you?

And of course I have no idea, but I know I love academic medical centers. I have spent some time working at the behemoth of Harvard med school, as well as the smaller but still huge OHSU. Walking around these centers, I love seeing the nursing students, the physicians-in-training, the young scientists. Though these people are adults, as professionals, these people are almost infants, and I love the parent-like training role of leaders at these academic medical centers.

I think that parent-like role is fundamental to the balance of life. Start out being trained and taken care of, and then as you learn more, teach others.

from ken

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