In May 2024, Annalise Nisly graduated from Goshen College with an environmental and marine science major with a concentration in marine biology as a member of the “Covid class” of students who had started college during the height of the pandemic. Lamar Nisly has since
In Rasselas, Samuel Johnson’s philosopher Imlac offers the following bleak assessment of life: “Human life is every where [sic] a state in which much is to be endured, and little to be enjoyed” ([1759] 1999, 31). Having been a teacher for more than 30 years,
There are a myriad of answers to this seemingly simple question. Grading probably comes to mind for many faculty, but there is certainly more to the challenge of teaching than that. Some teachers blame students they deem ill-prepared, unmotivated, ungrateful, uncooperative, and entitled. Others might
Hey, you. Yes, you. When was the last time you told your students, colleagues, or (gulp) administrators how thankful you were for them? Or jotted down a gratitude list as you went about your workday?
I’ve been wanting to write about my journey to embrace Rumi’s wisdom in my pedagogy. My teaching career began at a community college, where I served from 2007 to 2021, initially as an adjunct and later as a full-time faculty member in the Department of
In the fourth season of Gilmore Girls, there’s a memorable episode where Rory, navigating her first semester at Yale, visits her ethics professor during office hours. Under the guise of clarifying notes, she secretly hopes for praise on her recent essay. Confident in her performance,
Google “calling the teacher ‘mom,’” and you will find a deluge of pained or embarrassed faces across various memes. This shared humor is a prime example of transference. Transference is a fundamental principle of psychotherapy, which occurs when a person unconsciously projects attitudes and
A recent TED conversation (2023) with motivation researcher Ayelet Fischbach on overcoming procrastination got me thinking about the ebbs and flows of each semester and taking advantage of the key moments during the term to help with student success. This came to life for
As a student, I would often find myself buried in textbooks, meticulously reviewing notes, highlighting my textbook, and relistening to lectures I had recorded only to score an average grade or lower on my exams. At times, it felt like the harder I studied,
As part of my graduate training in clinical psychology, I was given the opportunity to serve as the primary instructor for one section of an undergraduate course. Excitement mounted as I awaited my assignment. Abnormal Psychology was the gold ring. It was always the
Magna Publications © 2024 All rights reserved