I love to watch people think. It is not the struggle but the process that interests me most. How individuals come up with ideas and figure out problems is unique to each person. This is why I enjoy teaching, to help people learn how to think for themselves, grapple with issues and realize that an answer is not always the goal.

As an instructor I present material to a class of students, but as a teacher I help students take that material and create knowledge for themselves. Instructing and teaching are not the same but are complimentary. I am convinced that good and effective teaching involves a great deal more than standing in front of students and conveying to them the "facts" of anthropology. Teaching can and should be a collective and reflective enterprise in which teachers and students (at all levels) learn from each other and each other's experiences in as informal and comfortable a setting as possible. This is the approach I have adopted in my courses. For example, in introductory courses I shy away from simply repeating material from the textbooks and try to impart a reflective and relevant context to lectures and readings. I try to pivot my lectures around central issues and themes and inform these through seemingly simple yet key examples. Above all, I make a concerted effort to convey the fact that anthropological constructs and perspectives can and should be relevant to contemporary concerns in U.S. society including those that the students themselves may have.

Teaching involves bringing the students and the material together, incorporating students into the class as participants, not leaving them as passive observers. I welcome questions and comments by the students and feel these provide the sustaining lifeblood of the discussion. I make every attempt to direct discussion to stimulate new thoughts and create new questions. Students quickly sense when the person at the front of the class wants them to learn and has a genuine mastery of, interest in and passion for the material being presented. This is not teaching one's work, but rather teaching one's thoughts. My goal as a teacher is to pique student interest and maintain it throughout the course. Exams, papers and projects are then an opportunity for students to demonstrate what they have learned, not what they don't know. At the same time that my students acquire knowledge and experience with anthropology, it is my hope that they grow in the understanding of themselves as adults, their place in the world, and their contributions to the human experience. I believe that a liberal arts education best serves these objectives.

In addition I believe that good teaching involves a great deal of mentoring: ongoing, close interaction with students within and outside the classroom setting, and the willingness to devote time to this effort. Besides taking time for students to help them with their coursework, I try and make time for students' everyday problems, because ultimately these affect their ability to learn and think clearly. Mentoring, then, provides another means for stimulating the thinking process and helping students work through trying situations. As well, I educate myself about major requirements and various options students have for fulfilling degree sections, and how their classes fit into the larger academic curriculum of the school. I listen to students, as I ask them to listen to me, because mutual respect facilitates stronger student-teacher relationships, which enhance classroom participation and interest.

In essence, I enjoy learning as much as I enjoy sharing knowledge with others. I am the first to admit I don't have an answer, and the last to disregard a question. For students, a good teacher is more than a person behind a lectern, and I regularly step out from behind the podium and make ideas and material tangible for them through examples, personal experience and interaction. As a teacher, I remember that trust, mutual respect and a good attitude create an environment in which students are more willing to participate, learn and most of all, think. I am deeply committed to undergraduate teaching and I am eager to contribute to the development and progress of a department that seeks to provide its students with opportunities to flourish.