In asking what makes for a successful education, I need look no further than my own experience. As an undergraduate majoring in philosophy and competing nationally in speech and debate, I was forced to think for myself; neither philosophy nor debate provided much reward for learning and repeating facts and simple associations. Both pursuits also demanded great dedication. Imprecise writing earned demands for revisions from dedicated professors, and poorly prepared speeches were easy targets for ambitious opponents. Combined, critical thinking and dedication bred confidence.

During my graduate studies, I was again fortunate to enjoy professors who continued to ask more of me than I thought I could produce. From the first semester at the M.A. level, professors told us we were responsible for building real knowledge about the social world; even more impressively, we were expected to think critically about what it means to do so. The faculty at Annenberg have repeated this lesson, demanding ever more critical thinking and dedication, until we look in the mirror and see scholars.

As a teacher, then, my central goals are to foster critical thinking, teach dedication by example, and build students’ confidence. Toward this end, I have developed a firm belief in the following:

• A substantial portion of class time should be devoted to students discussing and applying the subject matter; this requires frequent escapes from the traditional professor-as-lecturer dynamic.
• Students learn more by critical engagement with materials than by rote memorization; instructors must demand creative thinking at every turn.
• Accessibility is crucial and requires flexible scheduling and flexible choice of medium.
• Students, teachers, and others on campus bring a collage of beliefs and life experiences; if embraced within a respectful environment, this diversity can help students better understand our complex social world.
• Undergraduate students bemoan large research projects but need few things more urgently; the higher-order skills developed in researching a problem are far more valuable than the knowledge contained in the final product.

Teaching our nation’s best and brightest young adults is a sincere privilege; it can only be earned by making them even better and brighter.