Let’s face it. There is a lot of talk in English and elsewhere about professors being hindered by staying in their comfort zones. Professors repeating the same tired syllabus and power point lectures. Notes that haven’t changed in years. Fearful of adopting new technology- or any technology. Of course it is easier to keep doing what you know, but we all know that change is necessary.

In the short time that I have been teaching I’ve been encouraged to do less. Spend less time on teaching. Give fewer notes. Its antithetical. One of the biggest surprises that I faced this semester is how students are willing to work with you when you aren’t an expert on something. Recently I conducted anonymous midterm evaluations. My students told me that even though I was far from expert in using the technologies necessary for their assignments, they appreciated that I was making the course more relevant for students who may never take another English class. What could be more gratifying that than? Then I look at what I learned- I know how to use several more programs that I couldn’t even have encountered otherwise. I know more about the downtown area than I learned in my entire undergraduate experience (though I am an admitted hermit). And finally, learning these technologies together created a point of communication and bond between students and with me.

In the face of these results I can’t imagine not continuing to push myself to explore new possibilities. What else could lead pedagogy to new and better places?