A letter to me, from me

I have been blessed to learn from teachers who not only teach their subject well, but also know how to teach others how to teach. Because some of my mentors have encouraged me to consider a career in education, and I have always enjoyed helping others learn, I hope to continue teaching in some form for the rest of my life. As a student and tutor, I have a unique perspective on the world of teaching, so I drew up this letter to myself lest I forget in the future what I am learning and observing now. As I get older, I hope I will continue to grow and adjust my ideas for the better, but here’s a starting point. A huge thanks to all the teachers in my life who have been great examples of how to teach!

Sincerely, Your teenage self.

Dear Katherine,

I’m not sure what you’re doing now that you’re in your 30s or 40s, but perhaps you’re involved with helping others learn, whether teaching in a formal classroom setting or helping new nurses get oriented to their jobs. However, I hope you remember some of the qualities you appreciated in your teachers when you were younger! Your best teachers had many of the following characteristics in common, and I hope you become like them. How so? Well, I think you should …

1) Be interested.

To be a good teacher, you must be interested in and passionate about your subject. Most young teachers have this interest, but, sometimes, older teachers forget how enthralling their field of expertise is. It is not difficult to stay interested in nearly any subject if you want to be interested and if you keep learning about it, so ...

2) Keep learning.

Continually graze on information related to your field of study, whether by reading journals, conducting research, or attending seminars. Not only will this help you converse with co-workers, it will also give you a more colorful palette with which to paint lessons for your students. As you keep learning, you will reap new ideas to explain old concepts in more successful ways and will be able to flesh out your lectures with helpful details.

3) Teach them.

Despite how simplistic it may sound, this is your primary duty to your students. Some teachers do everything but teach; they show YouTube videos, berate students for needing to be taught, or turn the class into “group discussion” time. Few students feel that these activities, when unguided, teach them better than an intelligent professor can. Lecturing is a perfectly acceptable format for class and can often be the most efficient way to teach.

4) Like them.

Teachers who like their students and want them to succeed will enjoy teaching and have more compliant students. It can be difficult to strike the perfect balance between being distant and becoming too familiar with students, but it is well worth the effort. Students will perform better and recommend you to others if you truly and kindly care about them.

5) Accept criticism.

No teacher is perfect, so be willing to accept criticism and continue honing your skills. Peers have good advice, but so do students. It can be tricky to tactfully obtain criticism from your students, but end-of-semester surveys are a good place to start. Take “A” students’ critiques especially seriously.

6) Give them the answers.

Good students will love you and become better students if you give them the answers to questions whenever possible. These answers may be available directly from you, from the text, or from guidelines, but make sure they are readily accessible for diligent students. Also, talk over test questions after the fact, as this can efficiently show students their weak spots.

7) Don’t bash memorization.

True learning involves conceptual understanding and memorization. If one “gets” a concept, but doesn’t memorize enough about it to recall it when necessary, nothing has been achieved. So, encourage students to couple their understanding with memorization.

8) Be honest.

If you make a mistake, admit it. Your students will admire you all the more for demonstrating moral fiber. In the same vein, be honest and brave enough to tell your students when their work is stellar and when it is sorely lacking—not just one or the other.

9) Be clear.

You will save yourself time if you are very lucid and straightforward in both your organization and communication. Be clear when describing assignments and also when presenting information. Rubrics are a fabulous way to communicate with your students! By all means, avoid describing assignments with such statements such as, “As long as you put effort into this and demonstrate creativity, you’ll do fine!” Such remarks throw the best of students into a confused frenzy.

10) Choose your battles.

Do not expect perfection from your students. If you want to make attendance key in your class, feel free to emphasize it, but don’t also try to stop all Internet access, ban used textbooks, and throw the full weight of the class grade on two tests. Make the class difficult in one or two ways, not 100! Decide what areas you wish to prioritize in your class and emphasize those. The best teachers tend to set priority on academic performance and not care too much about class attendance or Internet usage, knowing those who truly want good grades will self-regulate their attendance and attention span to fit their learning needs.

Sincerely,

Your teenage self

P.S. Remember your first nursing schoolteacher, Mrs. Sump? Her class was challenging and sometimes nerve-wracking, but she was so approachable and patient that everyone loved it. Remember her when you forget what to aim for!

For Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL), published by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International.