Teacher, for the Love of it
PERSPECTIVE
Guinevere Bennett
You should be a teacher.” Those famous last words have brought me to where I am today. As I reflect on my path, I wonder what people saw in me that projected that I was destined for academia. For those considering teaching as a career, is it a good fit for you?
Love of the Stage
A teacher must be onstage, all the tune. In my youth, I nurtured the stage life with theater, student government, and competitive athletics. These set the stage for an eventual permanent position in front of the critical student eye. One must become aware and be comfortable with personal idiosyncrasies and flaws that will, without a doubt, be brought to attention with every new fall semester’s cohort of students. How many times have faculty discussed the dilemma of students paying to be there and the expectations that come with it, including the unspoken show? To this, I am seasoned with a life led in the spotlight. To be a teacher, one must be comfortable in that space, very comfortable.
One must become comfortable with the inquisitive eye of academics when teaching outside of a terminal degree discipline and be prepared for the onslaught of questions to follow. “Is this what you planned for? Why are you teaching outside of your profession? Do you think you are a good fit for your student population?” I reflect on why I am here and what I have to offer to the stage of academia—a different perspective, interdisciplinary collaboration and teaching initiatives, and advancement of health from every perspective. Am I here to alter anyone’s career path? Unlikely, however, what I have to offer will change how my students grow in their career paths and eventual professions, for on this stage I alter a future reality of perceptions, intentions, and build on cohesiveness in all of the health sciences.
Love for Knowledge
My mother was an educator in the Georgia public school system for 32 years. Around the dinner table growing up, we talked about teaching “do’s and don’ts,” student accomplishments and struggles, trending education research, and strategies to reach more of the student population. My mother was not a workaholic; she was shnply in love with her profession—the advancement of it, the direction it was going, and the challenges along file way. Exposure to that year after year has a profound effect on a person. I fell in love with knowledge—learning it, mastering it, sharing it, and progressing it.
Later in life, I find myself talking about the same things I heaid around my own childhood kitchen table. I have a hunger for continuing file path that my mother nurtured for all of her
^One must become comfortable with the inquisitive eye of academics when teaching outside of a terminal degree discipline and be prepared for the onslaught of questions to follow. 5 J
adult life. Have the students changed? The demands changed? Of course, educators change as well, and with this, so too must the path adjust to meet the demands of the world. With the love of knowledge, the teacher must be passionate and ever-changing for his or her students.
Love for the College Lifestyle
My father fully expected me to start another terminal degree once I had completed my chiropractic doctoral degree; he knows me well. Many tunes since I graduated, I have entertained the idea of completing another clinical degree or perhaps an academic terminal degree. While I have yet to complete either, I do find myself once again on campus surrounded by the college lifestyle. I love the energy of campus—file constant buzz of student comings and goings, the permanent signs cheering for clubs, Greek life, student leadership, and class help. I love the freedom to make my day work as I see fit as long as the work gets done; for
example, coming in early so I can squeeze in a workout after school hours before I return home. I am encouraged to further my education with classes and make tune for manuscript writing during the day. I love that the annual schedule aligns with family commitments to give me tune off over the holidays and summer. Indeed, the college lifestyle was made for me. I may return to the student status one day and get that academic degree, but for now, I have all the college lifestyle that I need.
■ "Many times since I graduated, I have entertained the idea of completing another clinical degree or perhaps an academic terminal degree. JJ
Love for Research
This is a tough pill to swallow. Does anyone truly love research? It is challenging for me to dedicate up to 30% of a day to working on something that may or may not be funded, published, positively received, or help professionally. Many people would balk at those odds. So the love of research is simply the “cost of doing academic business.” I must live by this principle to exhibit a love for research. I enjoy brainstorming with colleagues, experiment data collection, and completion of the final product, but that is on par with enjoying the rides at Disney World and not wanting to do the maintenance of those rides during the wee hours. This is also true in the work of writing; the grueling parts
must be done to have the great manuscript at the end.
The pedigree of published work is a constant carrot to chase. With less than five years in my academic career, I still have the low-hanging-fruit of a new investigator from which to benefit. Soon that will not be enough; I will have expectations of large looming grants to bring to the school, grand interdisciplinary research studies, and moving manuscripts to produce. To this I, like many of my colleagues, feel underprepared and overwhelmed. Time will be the teacher for loving that new level of research.
My career in teaching continues to bring me from the person I was in the past, to the person I will be in the future. The love of stage, knowledge, lifestyle, and research are a big paid of the reason so many saw me on my path before I did. As I continue to settle into a long and fulfilling career in academia, my path will evolve and change, and I can hardly imagine what my 20-year professorship will encompass, and the wonderful people I will meet along the way. I will stay true to my vision and enjoy all of the highs and lows that life brings with it.
Dr. Guinevere Bennett completed her Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Life University in Marietta, GA. She has been in full or part-time private practice since 2009 and began teaching at Tennessee State University in the Occupational Therapy program in January 2014. Currently she is involved in college student ergonomics research as well as research involving audio and visual testing strategies that has been submitted for publication. She is interested in research in the fields of Chiropractic, Biomechanics, and Neuromuscular Sciences. For more information, on this article, please contact Dr. Bennett via e-mail at [email protected]
