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September
10,
2004
UW-Green Bay
faculty member Denise Scheberle, professor of public and environmental
affairs, received the 2004 Teaching Excellence Award as presented by the
UW System Board of Regents. In her acceptance speech upon receiving the
award at the Regents' September meeting in Madison, she shared her thoughts
on education as a lifelong calling. We present the text of her remarks
as follows:
Remarks to the Board of Regents
by UW-Green Bay Prof. Denise Scheberle
September 10, 2004
Good morning. Saying “thank you very much” doesn’t seem
to capture my deep appreciation or my feelings about this award. I am
incredibly honored to receive this award. It’s the best thing that’s
ever happened in my professional life, and you have honored me in a way
that I will never forget. Thanks to the Board of Regents for spotlighting
teaching, the awards selection committee who I know read files of many
outstanding faculty, to the wonderful staff at the Office of Professional
and Instructional Development (OPID) led by Lisa Kornetsky who both supported
and challenged me to develop scholarly teaching, to my colleagues on the
Green Bay campus, so many of whom are deserving of this award, to Chancellor
Shepard and Provost Hammersmith who consistently champion teaching on
our campus, to my husband Steve who supports me in everything I do, and
to my students who teach me something every day. I thank you all very
much.
This year marks two decades of teaching for me. Nearly twenty years and
over 3,000 students later, I have much to do and more to learn about teaching
to maximize student learning. My teaching is a work in progress, but as
I reflect on my experiences, a few observations come to mind.
The great educator Horace Mann challenged us to “be afraid to die
until you have won some victory for humanity.” I can’t think
of a better place for these victories to occur than in a public university.
Often, we think of the contribution of research. But, teachers hold an
awesome power to change lives, too. There’s an old adage that suggests
that “those who can, do; those who can’t, teach.” The
sentiment behind that saying reminds us that sometimes people just don’t
understand the power that teachers have. We can find ways to help students
believe in themselves, build confidence, grow in their thinking, their
attitudes toward one another, and their ability to see the complexities
of human existence. Sometimes these changes are apparent within the classroom,
but they are also reflected years later, when you see students embrace
their professional lives with integrity, confidence and grace. One reason
I stand here today is because a teacher I had believed in me.
With such power comes immense responsibility. I owe the university and
my students a learning experience that challenges them, empowers them,
and that offers information that is on the cutting edge of my field of
study. Significant learning happens in an environment infused with trust,
respect and openness. Simple things like learning names, taking the time
to get to know individuals, preparing for class, establishing learning
objectives, go a long way in setting the stage for learning. So, too,
does mentoring and modeling behavior. If I want students to learn how
to think critically, I need to do it in the classroom. If my learning
goals include developing attitudes of citizenship, stewardship, compassion,
and dedication to academic work and a love of learning, I must lead by
example, both inside and outside of class.
I also have a deep appreciation for the power of teachable moments--those
“ah-ha” moments when students and teacher are riveted to an
event, a particularly telling comment in discussion, or an astute question.
These are the moments that we remember--these wonderful windows of opportunity
for learning. And sometimes they come at unexpected times.
I recently took my six year old grandson Trystin for his first airplane
ride. I knew it was going to be a fun when we entered the airport filled
with flags from other countries, and Trystin said, “Look Grandma,
Gryffindor!” Later during the flight, he was glued to the window.
When the announcement came to fasten our seat belts, I told him we were
about to land. He wrinkled his brow and asked, “Are we still on
earth?” To which I replied, that yes, we were, that we were about
to land in Minneapolis. He pondered the word “Minneapolis”
for a moment and asked, “Well, do they speak human in Minneapolis?”
Now, here was a teachable moment when we could talk about space travel,
geography, works of fiction and different languages. It also illustrates
the importance of understanding what preconceptions we all have when we
learn new things.
Teachers should be creative, so students can be creative and critical
thinkers. Howard Gardner suggests that creative individuals regularly
solve problems and pose issues in a way that is initially novel, but ultimately
appropriate and culturally valued. One way to do this is to create situations
where students learn by doing, and when learning is connected to life
experiences, just as the airplane ride was for my grandson.
Recently in the Public and Nonprofit Management class, students organized
the first campus-wide series of dialogues about democracy, which they
called the Phoenix Forum, to talk about citizenship, patriotism, diversity,
voting and America’s role in the world. The purpose was not further
polarize students, but rather to seek new ways of understanding through
student-to-student dialog. Over 120 students participated in six different
dialogs. It was creative, it was hard work, but it brought forward new
ideas and new framings of public issues. Student leaders increased their
sense of facilitation and organizational skills while nearly all participants
reported a deeper appreciation for civic engagement.
This semester, students are in the midst of planning the Steps to Make
a Difference Walk. They will learn first-hand the challenges nonprofit
organizations encounter, they will also learn the value they bring to
their communities. As one student put it last year, “I learned that
deep-down, I really am a good person and that what I do matters.”
In sum, I ask students to risk a good deal as they shift from passive
learning to co-production in the classroom. We use imagination, we treat
each other with respect, and we grapple tough issues. Students continue
to surprise me with the depths of their passion and understanding. You
see, they have the power to change me, just as I am once again humbled
by the power of teaching and the great honor of being a teacher.
Perhaps it’s time for a new adage: Instead of “those who can,
do, those who can’t teach”—how about: Those that can
see the immense satisfaction and privilege involved in teaching should;
those that think that teaching is “just another job” should
not.
Again, thank you very much for this amazing award.
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