I have learned to go into each experience with an open mind, and give 100% always!!!
The summer before my sophomore year of college I was absolutely DREADING returning to school because I had to take both Organic Chemistry and Physics. Physics I wasn’t so scared of, but Organic Chemistry was an infamous beast. Well, from day 1 I decided to sit front and center in the lecture hall. As a student, there are so many factors that are beyond your control— if the professor you are taking is the “good” one, what the grading scale is, what questions will be asked of you on exams, etc… But you can always control your attitude, and how much effort you are willing to put in!!!
I gave it my all and Organic chem ended up being my favorite course I have ever taken– I actually joined the professor’s laboratory as a research assistant, and I am also a supplemental instructor and tutor for the course. I NEVER would have imagined that I could do this!!! Organic chem taught me that with an open mind and effort, anything is possible (and TA taught me how to tackle these historically difficult courses!)
MV (former student)
My response:
Mrs Farkhondeh Khalili will be so proud hearing all of this. I know that I am. And the one thing I am taking away from this is that you can control your attitude. It is so true.
Farkhondeh Khalili’s response: I am so proud of you (MV)! Your right attitude has led you to increase productivity and more importantly to believing in yourself. Keep up the great work.
More about an open mind and effort:
If people stayed in their lanes, little would get done. Progress depends on people trying things they never imagined doing.
I graduated with a chemistry degree hoping to teach chemistry, but schools needed physics teachers and general science teachers. Pure chemistry openings were scarce.
“Of course I can teach physics, too!” I needed a job and tried to keep an open mind. And so my first teaching gig included chemistry, physics, and introductory physical science. I knew my chem, but hadn’t taken any physics since sophomore year in college.
I faked it until I made it. I’m not saying that I came in unprepared. I started reading voraciously about motion, energy, vectors, and all the fun stuff you see in a physics classroom. I highly recommend The Cartoon Guide to Physics by Larry Gonick with illustrations by Art Huffman*. His books are very informative, historical, and entertaining.
Being open to teaching new things has been a consistent requirement throughout my career. And it has taken me in more directions than I could have ever predicted. It is this flexibility that has been a foundation of all I taught. How can you expect a student to try new things and put themselves out there if you aren’t willing to do the same?
A good friend of mine pointed out that a science teacher is someone expected to know the most current research about a subject while at the same time being an expert historian of it. That rings so true! In the same lesson about the atom you may move from the Ancient Greek Democritus proposing their existence to JJ Thomson discovering the electron to the modern quantum mechanical model describing its wave nature.
What’s nice is that students learn that science changes through evidence, not decree. The teacher needs a deep knowledge of all these models while also judging what information is essential and what might overwhelm a fifteen-year-old at 9 AM. In other words, a research scientist may dig one well very deep. A science teacher often has to know where all the wells are, who dug them, what they found, and which ones ran dry.
I have always loved teaching something new, especially for the first three or four years. I think that my best teaching occurred when I had recent memories of struggling with the same ideas and concepts my students experienced. Because I struggled, I sought better resources. Having greater resources available than just one textbook or memory from a class I took in college allowed me to pivot more with my students. I could get them to see things from a different perspective since I had to do the same. I was NEVER an expert in the class.
Most have heard the phrase “A jack of all trades, master of none.” That was how I always felt. But there is another version of this phrase that I think rings more true. “A jack of all trades, master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.” I believe that breadth, curiosity, and adaptability are why teaching remained rewarding for so long. I was able to seek out new ideas, topics, and experiences throughout my career.
In 37 years of teaching, I taught Chemistry, AP Chemistry, Physics, AP Physics, Introductory Physical Science, 7th grade Matter and Energy, 9th grade Physics, 9th and 10th grade Integrated Science, Algebra I and II, Astronomy, Marine Science, Biology, and AP Environmental Science. I taught a student research class in partnership with local universities that opened me up to learning so much about Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, micro and nanofluidics, human vision and brain science, energy and marine conservation.
For the last ten years of my career, I was partnered with Dr. Austin Gallagher and his NGO Beneath The Waves. Through Beneath The Waves I learned how to tag and measure sharks with my students**. We helped BTW out both around Cape Cod and in warmer climates in the Caribbean. We also did a lot of work with measuring the effectiveness of sea grass with regard to carbon capture to offset climate change.
None of the experiences in my career happened because I had a perfect plan. Most happened because I said yes before I knew exactly how. An open mind put me in classrooms, laboratories, on boats, beside sharks, and alongside remarkable students and scientists. In the end, the greatest lesson I taught may have been the one I kept learning myself: stay curious, stay flexible, and be willing to begin again.
*And after thirty-seven years of teaching I would recommend pretty much all of the Cartoon Guides (Chemistry, the Environment, Genetics, Statistics, Biology, …)
**I have also posted The Experience of Tagging and Measuring a Shark to give you an idea of what my students did during a shark tagging trip
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