Category Archives: Teaching Philosophy

December 10, 2013
12:15 am
by: rainman

Revoking the License to Steal

Disclaimer:  The following may or may not include fabrication, exaggeration, or other inaccuracies which, along with the absence of names, are specifically designed to protect the innocent and guilty alike as well as provide comedic effect.  Continue at your own … Continue reading →

Posted in PFP13F, Teaching Philosophy, Uncategorized

October 15, 2013
9:10 am
by: rainman

American blinders

During the first night of our around-the-world tour of education, I had this overwhelming sense of the arrogance/complacency/stupidity/ignorance/blindness that I have as an American.  I realized somewhere in there just how much I (and I suspect most of us in … Continue reading →

Posted in PFP13F, Teaching Philosophy

September 23, 2013
12:23 pm
by: rainman

1940?? Really??

I have recently gone through the 1940 document on Academic Freedom and Tenure and found the magic 7 year tenure track number.  This dates back over 70 years?  Wow.  It may be time for an update. Let’s assume that a … Continue reading →

Posted in PFP13F, Teaching Philosophy

September 6, 2013
10:14 am
by: rainman

The Pre-Prof Grad School Experience

For any familiar with my personal blog, you know that I often come up with seemingly random thoughts that somehow I think warrant blog attention.  For example, what is up with the yoga pants craze?  But it seems that today’s … Continue reading →

Posted in PFP13F, Teaching Philosophy

September 4, 2013
12:22 pm
by: rainman

A Man on a Mission

Once upon a time, there was a practicing engineer who decided to come back to school on a mission.  To become an engineering professor.  Now along the way, he encountered various adventures, obstacles, rewards, and some really great people.  But … Continue reading →

Posted in PFP13F, Teaching Philosophy

February 25, 2012
8:23 am
by: rainman

Another Failure, Another Lesson Learned

It’s Midterm season.  The time of the semester when stresses spike and schedules get busier and Red Bull records record profits.  As a grad student, this is not a favorite season.  In fact, given the option, I would skip it … Continue reading →

Posted in Failure, Teaching Philosophy

February 15, 2012
1:01 pm
by: rainman

Meanwhile, back in the Real World…

So, outside my student life, I actually have time to be in contact with non-students.  Other grad students in the engineering college will know why that is a shock.  But today, one such friend, an English teacher, emailed me an … Continue reading →

Posted in Teaching Philosophy

February 8, 2012
1:48 pm
by: rainman

A lighthearted break

Don’t ask me why it occurred to me today.  Maybe not enough sleep.  But I thought about the various jokes I have heard over the years involving “Little Johnny”.  If you google it, you get lots of links, but this … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor, Teaching Philosophy

February 6, 2012
3:55 pm
by: rainman

The path less traveled

One of the most frustrating things about hearing about “learner-centered teaching” is how foreign it is to my experience.  I routinely think of my pedagogy class as “touchy-feely”.  Now, if you were an engineer with a couple decades of experience … Continue reading →

Posted in Teaching Philosophy

February 3, 2012
4:01 am
by: rainman

Failure… the Final Frontier

In engineering, if we want to know how strong a material is, we test it til it breaks.  Pull and pull and pull and see just how much it can take.  Record what happened just before and you have the … Continue reading →

Posted in About the Author, Failure, Teaching Philosophy