FEATURE
IT’S A LONG TERM IMPACT: TEACHING FOR FUTURE SUCCESS AND IMPACT By Brandon Horvath, Ph.D.
T
eaching by its nature is a thankless job; it’s difficult to judge how effective you’ve been in the moment. Sure, there are tests and assessments one can use to determine how much has been ‘learned’, but those tools do little to capture the impact you’ve had on a student over a longer term. So, you often find yourself in a place where you don’t really know how you’ve done as a teacher until after the teaching is ‘complete’. Similarly, being a student isn’t exactly easy, nor what you end up doing when you move to the “real world”. I hate that term. The real world is where we are right now. It’s the ups and downs of being a student, learning new things, while juggling work commitments, social agendas, and parental expectations. Not to mention one’s own expectations, hopes, and dreams. Honestly, the relationship formed between teacher and student when it’s done right should be one that lasts. Someone that the student can call upon when they need an unbiased perspective and someone that knows them and believes they’re capable of excellence even when they might not believe themselves. That is what I love about my opportunities to teach students in the Turfgrass Science and Management program here at the University of Tennessee,
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Wes Mackie – Pine Orchard Yacht and Country Club
Knoxville. It’s being able to see the growth of a person from being a novice to capable professional. It’s being able to show them how to identify a grass in the introductory turfgrass lab, to assessing a complex problem in the turfgrass strategies class, to taking a phone call about a new job opportunity and talking about the impact that might have on their burgeoning family. Accomplished teaching is a long-term commitment, and I’ve been able to reflect this past year on just how much impact I’ve had on students that have made their way through our program, and the impact that my colleagues have had on our students as well. The purpose of this article is to share with all of you just a few examples of what we do, and how committed we are to establishing long-term relationships with our students that tell us just how well we do at that job called “teaching”. I asked several of our students and alumni that you’re about to meet what it is about me and my colleagues’ teaching that has had an impact on them as they are navigating their careers. Their answers are insightful, and I think demonstrate that we are doing an exceptional job developing connections that will last.
TENNESSEE TURFGRASS OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2021 Email TTA at: info@ttaonline.org
