A good teacher is the village explainer, or so a professor once told Lisa Jadwin. At every turn, good teachers take complex ideas and pare them down to understandable, bite-sized pieces for students to absorb, even at 8 o’clock in the morning.
Jadwin, 42, is a professor of English at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, N.Y. She has mastered the role of village explainer. She seamlessly blends humor into her lectures about Victorian literature and engages students in lively discussions.
Jadwin double majored in English and design at the University of California at Davis. She then attended Princeton University on full scholarship, where she received her master’s degree in English and her Ph.D. She taught at Davidson College in North Carolina for two years before accepting a full-time position at St. John Fisher.
Jadwin organizes her day around the three classes she teaches per semester. She needs to schedule not only in-class time, but also time to meet with students and review coursework. On any given day, you’ll find her preparing new classes, writing articles and books, teaching classes, talking with students, grading work and re-reading materials for her courses.
Jadwin sees teaching as a service profession comparable to nursing. The real question, she says, is when coming across a piece of information, do you want to share it with others or do you just keep it to yourself? She chooses to share. She also has varied interests that keep her active and informed in and outside of the academic community.
Is the academic world your calling? You don’t necessarily need a Ph.D. to start teaching. What you do need is a vast array of knowledge in your field and the desire to share it. Most tenured professors started as instructors or assistant professors, sometimes while still finishing a master’s or doctorate degree. After gaining experience, you may earn associate professor status. Full professorship and tenure follows after years of dedication and hard work.
Terms to know Tenure means a professor is guaranteed a position for life at the school.
A sabbatical is a period of time when professors do not teach courses at the school, but engage in other activities (such as traveling, doing research or writing books) to further their knowledge.
Instructors/assistant professors have little or no previous teaching experience.
Associate professors have been promoted after about five years at the instructor/assistant professor level. They’ve usually published some articles or books.
A full professor has tenure. This is the highest title, except that of professor emeritus, which is usually given to retired professors.
Jen Graney is a senior at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, N.Y., and an intern for The Next Step Magazine.
