On the importance of being polite

Abstract

A number of years ago I asked my son David about the teachers at his middle school. Could you tell me which of your teachers obviously likes teaching and coming to school in the morning? He took a minute and said, Mr. Z. Are there any others? No. Imagine, in a middle school with 12 teachers, only one was found by my son to be obuiously interested in teaching. If your students were asked the same question, would they name you? If not, how can you change what you're doing so that you would be named? I am going to suggest in this essav that one thine vou can do is to be overtly and conscio;sly polite. Mv collearme. Joe E.. started me thinking about this a . number of years ago when I took a course from him. This was an evenine course. Joe invariahlv bounced into class with a cheery&ile, a hearty 'Good-evening, and generallv exuded the feeling that he was deli~hted to be there with us. We all felt ce&n that Joe didn'twant to be somewhere else, wasn't there because it was required in some way, and genuinely loved the subject he was teaching. This was no chore. It was what he both wanted and enjoyed doing. Moreover, his enthusiasm went beyond the subject matter and embraced us as friends and collaborators on a joint journey oflearning. He was respectful and unfailingly polite in dealing with us. Being in that room, with him, and in the lovine ambiance he created. made that class a iov to attend. In flct, I looked forward that class all weeL as a kind of oasis of friendship and camaraderie. As a teacher of any subject you have already made a statement about its import to you and your commitment to it. I am serious about chemistry and transmitting knowledge and understanding about it. This seriousness may be why it took me such a long time to be able to be overtly open about my feelings about the subject, teaching, and my students. Somehow, for a bona fide scientist, it is unseemly to get emotional. Although I certainly encourage the open show of passion about chemistry (or any other subject), the central message of this essay has to do with being polite and showing respect. Students know that the teacher is more expert than they in the subject they are struggling to master. There is never any point in rubbing that in or showing off your mastery. Any teacher can design an examination so difficult that the class average will be below 20. To do that is malicious and petty. Teachers need constantly to keep in mind that they are the experts for whom all this flows easily, and their students are the tyros laboring with learning. (Isn't that awareness the foundation of being a good teacher?) Yet the teachers also need to remember the efforts they put into learning this particular subject and the fact that many students are much more proficient than they'll ever be in a variety of other subjects and activities. As a personal eximple, I tned learning piano in middle aee and never got much hewnd davmadThree Blind Mice below the levei of a mechanicai piano! So, in some