A Teacher First, An Administrator Second
As you can see it has been about three weeks since my last post, and that is mainly due to the sheer amount of work that I have on my plate at the moment. Not that I am complaining, what I am working on is exciting stuff - there is simply a lot of it. On top of teaching my courses this summer, and preparing for two very exciting conference papers I am delivering in at the beginning and end of September, I am also the project lead for the implementation of two new programs at my college.
This means I spend a lot of time going from my teacher hat, to my administrator hat, to my academic/researcher hat. That's a lot of hats!
As I was talking to a colleague this week about a new set of responsibilities that had been added to my list, he stated that in these cases it is always important to remember how you define yourself. This is especially important when you work in post-secondary education.
I have written previously about my disparate selves but what never wavers is the answer I give when someone asks me: "So what do you do?". My answer is always the same: "I am a teacher". What comes after that first statement can change from time to time. For example, now my answer is "I am a teacher who is also involved in curriculum development and program implementation." However, no matter what comes after, I will always be a teacher first.
When you are working on projects it can be really easy to forget the teaching part and let the administrative side take over. A fine balance is often hard to achieve. However, as much as I do like the administrative duties I have right now, they will always come second to my role as a teacher, instructor, and pedagogue. They have to because my passion lies in teaching. If given the choice between more administration and less teaching, I would have to leave the administrative part because teaching is really important to me.
Another thing which complicates the definition can be area of specialization. Where does ones specialization fit in within this paradigm? A teacher first, a Victorianist second, an administrator third...that sounds about right.
How do you define the work that you do within Higher Ed? Have you experienced a similar tension between teaching and administration, or even teaching, administration, and area of specialization?
This means I spend a lot of time going from my teacher hat, to my administrator hat, to my academic/researcher hat. That's a lot of hats!
As I was talking to a colleague this week about a new set of responsibilities that had been added to my list, he stated that in these cases it is always important to remember how you define yourself. This is especially important when you work in post-secondary education.
I have written previously about my disparate selves but what never wavers is the answer I give when someone asks me: "So what do you do?". My answer is always the same: "I am a teacher". What comes after that first statement can change from time to time. For example, now my answer is "I am a teacher who is also involved in curriculum development and program implementation." However, no matter what comes after, I will always be a teacher first.
When you are working on projects it can be really easy to forget the teaching part and let the administrative side take over. A fine balance is often hard to achieve. However, as much as I do like the administrative duties I have right now, they will always come second to my role as a teacher, instructor, and pedagogue. They have to because my passion lies in teaching. If given the choice between more administration and less teaching, I would have to leave the administrative part because teaching is really important to me.
Another thing which complicates the definition can be area of specialization. Where does ones specialization fit in within this paradigm? A teacher first, a Victorianist second, an administrator third...that sounds about right.
How do you define the work that you do within Higher Ed? Have you experienced a similar tension between teaching and administration, or even teaching, administration, and area of specialization?
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