I am proud to be a college teacher and all that encapsulates. When someone ask me to describe myself, the first thing I say is “I am a college professor.” We can all remember professors who helped shape us, drive us, and make us who we are. I want to be that professor for my students. I’ve had the pleasure to teach students from many walks of life, from students arriving from underserved communities that are often unprepared or under-prepared for college to students who come from PhD holding families. I work to be more than just a teacher, but also a mentor and trusted source of information. As a college instructor, I believe my teaching role extends past political science to teaching my students how to be a student and a member of civil society. I explain the importance of a college education, how it will benefit them throughout their lives, and how it will make them a better person. I believe, and explain to my students, that my job as teacher is more than just classroom lectures. I tell my students that I am available to them for knowledge and advice on political science, college life, academic pursuits, and taking advantage of opportunities.

I have helped scores of students with their higher education and career goals. I worked as a graduate school recruiter for UNLV and have used that knowledge to help many students plan for their academic careers in achieving their bachelor’s degree and higher. I have written dozens of letters of recommendation for my students to help them earn scholarships, acceptance into bachelor’s programs, into graduate school, and internships. I celebrate their accomplishments with them and encourage them when they have setbacks. I am proud of my work with students in and out of the classroom. I am from a poor, underserved community and was unprepared for college. I have made mistakes in attaining my education. I also have a wealth of outside academia experience which I bring onto the classroom. I use these experiences to connect with my students and to shape my teaching by providing real world context in our lessons.

I am aware that my students face daily hurdles I never had to deal with, and do not have to deal with now. I encourage students to share their personal conceptualizations of government and politics, how it affects them, and their place in it. I facilitate discussions that allow students to inform each other of how they perceive the world in which we live. This helps me both individualize the education experience and establish an understanding among my students that we are all facing challenges. I adopted this method from psychologist Dr. Carl Rogers’ student-centered teaching method.

I teach my students to embrace their own efficacy. Teaching American government is teaching the power, policy, and history of efficacy. American government instructors have a duty to install in their students the civic responsibility of participatory democracy. This is accomplished best by employing experiential learning and civic engagement. I shape assignments and lessons for students to incorporate what they are learning into the interactions with government at all levels, including the local student government on their campus.

I work to give my student confidence in their education. This is accomplished by constantly attaching a purpose to what they are learning. Dr. Malcolm S. Knowles and his andragogy method of teaching adults, states that adult students do better if they understand the reasoning and purpose behind what they are learning. Students learn better by being engaged with the material, understanding the importance of the material, and being able to put the material in context with their own lives.

I maintain a strong core of principles in my teaching which are honesty, professionalism, communication, and openness. I address these principles at the beginning of every course and ask my students to join me in maintaining them. I inform them they can always expect me to adhere to these principles and ask them to do the same.

By the end of any of my classes I want my students to have solid understanding of the subject and the theoretical underpinnings, how this knowledge will benefit them in their academic achievement, how this knowledge relates to the processes of government and the world in general, and how to use the knowledge as a tool in their own thinking. As importantly, though, I want my students to know I am there for them in achieving their education and life goals for as long as they may need me.