One of the greatest gifts in life is learning. The idea of processing new information, then applying it to a situation is beautiful and enriching. I have always been the student who eagerly asked questions in school and tries to see the importance in every subject.
But then I thought, what if I were to see things from the professor's point of view? What if I found out why they loved to teach?
I decided to ask two of the most influential professors from my sophomore year at Ball State University: Dwandra Lampkin, a professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance, and Richard Shoemaker, a professor in the Department of Journalism.
For me it seemed odd that Lampkin, who had been a successful television and stage actress in New York City, and Shoemaker, who been a victorious journalist and entrepreneur, would want to give up their glamorous fulfilling lives to teach students in little Muncie. I was curious to know why they wanted to teach when they could be furthering their own careers.
"I had a life that was full of excitement in terms of auditioning, being on television, being on stage, and at the end of the day when you're doing all that, it can be absolutely creatively rewarding," Lampkin said. "But what you realize at the end of the day is that it's been all about you. And I am not a vain person. In teaching you get to share that knowledge. It's as if you get to give someone a gift every day. A gift that they can use so that they can reward themselves and in return reward other people in the end."
I was enthusiastic, impatient and craving to know what they get from teaching? What does it do for them, personally?
"You get to see growth. I'm not a gardener. I'm not into planting flowers. I don't like being outside and dealing with bugs. But people plant flowers because they want to see them grow. It's the same thing for me, only I get to plant those seeds and watch my students grow," Lampkin said. "That is the reward I get at the end of the day, at the end of the school year. When I think about who they were during the Fall Semester as opposed to the end of the Spring Semester, I get to see growth. And the best part is I don't just get a seasonal growth; I get to see that growth for a four-year cycle. That is huge."
Similar to Lampkin, Shoemaker said he gets satisfaction from working with students and watching their development.
"Seeing others grow and discover what they can do is fulfilling. From a selfish perspective I always learn a lot when I'm interacting with students in the classroom," Shoemaker said. "It helps me keep busy and stay mentally alert. I've got to be at the top of the game all the time that I'm in a classroom. It forces me to do things that otherwise I might be lazy about."
My curiosity has me wondering: what happens after the student leaves? How do they know they really touched student's lives?
"It doesn't end there, even when they leave Ball State," Lampkin said. "To have students e-mail you and say, 'Guess what I'm doing?' or 'I remember the lesson you taught us that day about this kind of audition and I was totally able to use the knowledge you gave me.' And it could be ten years from now. But that's endless growth. I mean, what more could you want then knowing that something you've given somebody is something that their able to use for the rest of their lives?" Lampkin says.
The key thing I wanted to know was where do they get their inspiration to teach day in and day out?
"The fact that I get to come to work every day and teach what it is I love to do, that keeps me inspired," Lampkin said.
These professors have changed my life because they show me how essential it is to have a passion. And when you have a passion and have the power to share it with other people, so they can grow and aspire to become just as successful, I think that is one of the most striking and inspiring blessings in life.
Write to Meira at mabienstock@bsu.edu
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