Anthony
Elkins
Dr.
Leech
April
4, 2014
English
Composition 2089
Julie and her husband
The Career of Dr Julie Weast
There is a major importance that
comes along with being a teach of any kind; whether it be a college professor,
high school teacher, or early childhood education there is a need to be a
special person in order to do this job. As many of us have heard, it’s very
easy to be able to retain the knowledge, the struggle is relaying that
information is a way that is easy for another person that may know nothing
about the topic, to learn and understand. Teachers not only teach about a
certain subject, but also about life. They are like an example to their
students, and this is why it takes someone who is serious about their job, and
others wellbeing in order to be a teacher. Julie Weast, is a great example of
this kind of teacher, as she goes out of her way to make sure that her students
learn, and grow from her.
Schooling
and Some Background
Julie’s early journey was pretty
difficult. She got her undergraduate degree at Ohio University. After getting
her undergraduate degree, she knew that she had always wanted to go to graduate
school, but she couldn’t get in unless she paid. She soon found out it was
because of her early freshman partying days, which many kids face when they get
to be away from mom and dad for the first time. So she had to go back to OU in
order to retake classes to get the grades so she would be accepted into
graduate school. After she was all done, she ended up triple majoring in
psychology, French, and philosophy.
It was difficult to choose at first
what she was going to study in grad school, but she knew that she always had a
love for psychology, and that is what she ended up choosing. She went on to get
her doctorate from the University of Cincinnati, and loved it so much, that she
decided to stay and work for them. “Sometimes it was a struggle, but I wouldn’t
trade what I have for the world. Getting up every day and being able to make a
difference in young adult’s lives excites me to no end.” Julie said.
Becoming
a Teacher
Some may think that it is easy to be
a teacher, but if you truly care, it is a challenge. Julie said, “Sometimes
I’ll sit down at my computer and take four hours just going over the lecture
for my 1001 students, not to mention the three other classes that I have to
do.” Being a teacher is all about time management. Normally, a teacher is so
passionate about what they are teaching that they could take days just talking
about one topic. Sometimes it is very hard to come up with a way to teach
something that everyone will take some interest to, and find it easy to
understand.
The hardest part about being a
teacher is probably the beginning of every year because of all the scheduling
issues and the new incoming freshman that always have a ton of questions. Also
maybe because the course work is difficult, or maybe not something that the
student is used to, so it may take a month or so to get in the swing of things.
This is one of the many times out of the year that a teacher has to truly care
about their students, and show them that their questions are valid.
Teachers are supposed to always help
their students, but in college, only to a certain extent. Julie recalled a time
and a student she had that would come into every single one of her office hours
with really basic questions about the material that they were learning. As the
semester went on, he then started bringing in work from other classes and
expected her to help. Julie said, “This is when I decided that enough was
enough. I felt bad for the kid because they had a learning disability, but at
the same time, I had so many other things on my plate. Now if they really
needed help with my class, then that’s one thing, but I didn’t have time to sit
here and do all of their homework. So I referred them to a tutor, and they
ended up doing very well.” This is a perfect example of a teacher that cares.
She didn’t have time to help them, but she went out of her way to get them the
help that they needed.
Teaching
Effectively is more unusual than you think…
For a typical job, most people work
somewhere around forty hours a week, with maybe a few hours of overtime. As a
teacher, you are constantly working. Grading papers, preparing lectures, responding
to student’s emails, and the list goes on and on. When discussing this, Julie
said, “Sometimes I have to stop myself because I would spend all day everyday
going through my prepared material to make sure that it is effective for my
students, but I have to have some sort of social life, HA.”
There is so much more than meets the
eye when it comes to teaching, and yet it is still on the lower spectrum when
it comes to pay. Julie said, “The typical salary for someone starting out in my
position that is not a part of tenure, is between forty and sixty thousand
dollars depending on your schooling. If you have a tenure position, the salary
is higher, and there are much more pay increases along the way. As for my
position, thought, it pretty much has to do with seniority.”
The
Love of the ‘Job’
When discussing effective material, something
Julie said will always stay with me, and really taught me what being a good
teacher really means. She said,
“Growing up, I had so many ineffective teachers.
When I decided to teach, I promised myself that I would never do that. There
are so many professors that don’t put any time in the lectures that they give,
and the students just sit there because they have to while having absolutely no
idea what is going on in the class. Instead of that happening in my classes, I
spend hours making sure that my slides are just right for my students. You guys
have to pay so much for this ‘higher education’, that nowadays is like a high
school diploma, so you might as well learn something while you’re here.”
When
asked the final question of, what is your favorite part of your job? Julie
answered by saying, “Honestly Anthony, it’s to meet people like you! Being out
of college is like being out of my element, I loved every minute of it! That is
part of the reason why I am a college professor, I think it will keep me young,
and it’s great to feel like I have so many friends!”
Dr. Weast’s successes in teaching
and research of psychology has made me want to do the same. The amount of
enthusiasm and love that she has for what she does just radiates to everyone;
it is so refreshing so see someone really doing what they love. Giving this interview
has truly given me hope in having a job that I will love, because when you love
your job, you never really have to work.
No comments:
Post a Comment