By Lydia Reeves-Timmins, Temple University



It’s the end of the semester. The students I’ve spent the past 14 weeks with are focusing on summer vacation, travel plans and all that stuff that those with limited vacation have almost forgotten. The last class is this week, the final papers are due and I admit to being just a bit sad!

These students feel kind of special—my first class as a real professional…academic.

So what did I learn?

The big thing—less PowerPoint! I relied on it pretty heavily at the beginning because I was unsure. I loosened up in the latter part of the semester. They did group projects and I did MUCH less talking. During the next-to-last class I chatted with them a bit about their projects and asked them directly if they learned anything. To my joy (and surprise) they all said yes! Who knew—maybe I can teach! Several of the students commented about my style. They said they liked that I knew their names (well, gee, there were only eight of them) and that I looked at them while speaking. Which leads me to wonder what they’re used to!

Meantime, I’m almost halfway through the class I’m teaching at another university. It’s about writing for TV. Last night, we looked at broadcasts from Edward R. Murrow calling out McCarthy, to Cronkite announcing JFK’s death, to Three Mile Island to 9/11. The students really had some interesting insights about the development of TV news writing, seeing it as they did over that span of history and in a relatively short time.And you know what? So did I.

Try it sometime. Clips are on YouTube, just go through TV history and watch and listen to how we’ve changed. That’s your homework—says the teacher!

 

 

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end of semester

A good teacher always learns from their students and if they don't, they aren't listening.

Teaching

Where were you when I was in school? Have a great summer vacation!