Credit Guide

As a new faculty member at UVM I attended last Fridays teach-in at Ira Allen Chapel because the ingredients had the makings of a good recipe. The event was billed as a teach-in, facilitated by a recognized moderator, paneled by six faculty "experts" and held in a symbolic campus building. One might assume that there was a whole lot of expert teaching going on. Unfortunately, as skilled teachers will tell you, knowing your content doesnt mean you know how to teach.

When called on to speak by the moderator, faculty members in the audience were addressed by name, often thanked for their questions, or given excessive time to speak their minds. When students were called on to speak, they were not asked their names nor thanked for their questions. In some instances, they were rudely interrupted or mocked by one or more of the panelists or other audience members. When the atmosphere became emotionally charged, two of the panelists and the moderator shouted variations of "Ask the question!" "Get to the point!" and "I cant repeat it, because you arent making sense!" at the participants. A student sitting near me left the "teach-in" early, whispering before she left, "I feel so belittled."

I too left the "teach-in" quite disheartened. Instead of expertise, I heard arrogance. Instead of experiencing community, I felt disunity. The day after, I listened to a teach-in on VPR. The moderator understood the objectives of a teach-in, had anticipated potential pitfalls and skillfully facilitated the dialogue. He listened to each caller, paraphrased when appropriate, kept the callers AND the experts in check and did not allow the discussion to lapse into a polarizing debate that produced winners and losers. I respectfully suggest that if there ever was a time and place for public displays of good teaching, it is now and it is here. Lets teach.

Gajda is an assistant professor in the College of Education and Social Services.

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Professor Kevin McKenna, who moderated the Teach-In on International Terrorism, responds:

I'm disappointed by Professor Gajda's response to the panel discussion. Unlike the Day of Observance on Wednesday, which had as its goal a coming together of our campus community to share its pain and grief, our panelists on Friday sought to share their expertise relevant to terrorism, international diplomacy and Islam. This was not intended to be a pep rally, as Professor Gajda apparently would prefer, but an authentic teach-in conducted by experts in the field. Our campus is fortunate to have the experience and expertise represented by Professors Ergene, Gause, Kaufman, Stavrakis, Uddin and Youngblood.

Nearly 900 students came to the Chapel to learn more about Islam. Professors Ergene and Uddin made it clear that terrorist acts do not conform to Islamic belief. Other students wanted to learn more about the history of terrorism and how it is similar to or differs from what our country experienced last week. Still others wanted to learn more about the range of diplomatic responses that Washington might employ.

All our panelists responded in one manner or another to these questions. I think it is important for our students to see that not all experts agree on given questions or issues. We certainly witnessed disagreement among the panel as well as the audience.

I regret that this form of learning and reasoned, critical analysis does not coincide with Prof. Gajda's model. Students are here to learn, not to be entertained or coddled. We faculty share with students our research, our expertise, our analytical skills, our experience in an endeavor to discover and explore knowledge, learning and understanding. Certainly the heinous events of last week beg more understanding, more information, more context for us to begin to come to grips with their significance.

I am proud of the faculty who shared their views and expertise with our Ira Allen auidence last week. One may agree or disagree with [the panelists'] views, but none can claim that this panel failed to engage us in their analysis of recent events.

Kevin McKenna is a professor of German/Russian and the director of UVM's Area and International Studies Program.

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