Explaining what you teach

"Ms. Mentor," the advice columnist at the Chronicle of Higher Education, gives a few examples of how some instructors explain what they teach:

Some teachers do come up with sprightly retorts. One theater professor, tired of "Oh, you put on plays, how cool is that!" introduces herself as a teacher of "critical-thinking skills and group problem-solving" through "history, aesthetics, criticism, and production"—which intrigues interesting people, and turns away the less-than-curious. Other teachers cut off the predictable response with their own success stories: "My students can parse a political party platform" or "We're working on a cure for malaria" or "I'm an expert on gerunds!"

Read more from the column here.

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