Student Guide Corner

I would like to invite everyone to attend the Southeast Regional meeting of the American Accounting Association in beautiful Asheville, North Carolina, (near where I grew up) on April 16 to April 18.   At the meeting, I will be leading a panel discussion on the topic of �Becoming a More Effective Classroom Teacher.�   In fact, if you have any questions that you think we should discuss, drop me a note at  Jhoyle@richmond.edu . Here is the original proposal that was submitted for this panel to give you an idea of the thought behind our discussion. **  In �What It Takes to Be Great,� in the October 30, 2006, issue of  Fortune  magazine, author Geoffrey Colvin makes the following assertion.   �In virtually every field of endeavor, most people learn quickly at first, then more slowly, and then stop developing completely.   Yet a few do improve for years and even decades, and go on to greatness.�   In  What the Best College...

Prior to today, this blog has had 204 entries.   Over the years, the site has had over 134,500 page views (or roughly 650 views of each of those entries).   As always, thanks to everyone who passes along this link to other teachers who are interested in thinking more deeply about the day to day rewards and challenges of going into a classroom to help students develop and grow as human beings.   Thanks!!! ** A few weeks ago my dean sent me a note containing a simple question:   Can anyone learn to become a great teacher?   Unfortunately, I did not have a great answer and did little more than ramble around in response.   It is a question that I have thought about often during the intervening weeks.   Is it possible for anyone to develop into a great teacher or is that goal only available to a chosen few? What do you think?  If you have thoughts, I would love to hear them. Let me start the conversation by asking a d...

If you have followed this blog for long, you know that one of my primary recommendations is that every teacher should work to get 5 percent better every year.   If all of us could manage to improve by just 5 percent during the next 12 months, imagine how much more effective our educational system would become.   I think 5 percent is a realistic goal.   It would not take radical change.   If every teacher truly pushed for a 5 percent improvement, our schools and students would benefit in unbelievable ways. As we start each new year, I like to step back and think about how I might achieve my 5 percent improvement.   This is my 44 th year as a college professor and I am no longer a young person.   However, if I am not willing to push myself to improve, then it is probably time for me to retire.   Because I really do not want to retire, I am actively working on my 5 percent. Are you? As I mentioned in an earlier blog entr...