Professor advocates smiling and laughter in the classroom

Most students see nothing inconsistent about professors who smile and laugh when presenting serious materials. The professors I know "love" what they are teaching and it shows. They get excited about discussing the significance of subjects along with their knowledge and life experiences. Consequently, they smile and laugh because they value the role they play in helping their students develop.

It starts with you and what you think. For those wishing to renew their love of the teaching experience and have it show, I offer these simple thoughts:

1. Teaching is fun. Let's begin with this rather obvious observation. If you don't love what you are teaching, you probably would not be reading these words. Teaching is a high energy process. It takes effort to do research, organize ideas and ready them for presentation. While it begins with teaching a favorite subject, most professors enjoy the college experience and look upon their work as rewarding.

2. Congratulate yourself. Many people select a major, graduate, and then can't find a job in their chosen field. For most of you there is a connection among your undergraduate major, your advanced degrees, the time spent working in a profession, and what you are presently teaching. Give yourself a pat on the back! You are part of a profession you selected.

3. Focus on outcomes and the good you do. Now smile! What you do is meaningful and important. Likewise, what you teach is substantive. The information and knowledge you share and the skills you help develop enhance self-development. They provide people a foundation that encourages insights of a special nature.

4. Be honest with yourself. Now be honest and say to yourself, "Academic freedom is important. I work for more than money. My scholarly interests provide me some choice, freedom, flexibility, control, and ownership over what I do." Not everyone can say this. Sometimes it is valuable to remind yourself how fortunate you are to be able to help young people free themselves from the biases, superstitions, prejudices, and lack of knowledge that characterized their thinking before they came to college. Reflections of this type can help you realize that your job's situation outweighs its difficulty.

5. Ignore the problems. This may sound strange at first, but many problems that surround the teaching process (salary equity, scheduling, resources, space allocation) don't need to be filtered into your dealings with students. Many problems can't be solved right now so forget about them and concentrate on more important matters. Keeping in mind the old civil rights adage, "Keep your eyes on the prize," it makes good sense to maintain a clear focus and an optimistic tone for teaching.

6. Think positive thoughts. The effects of thinking positive thoughts have been confirmed in over five decades of research. Psychologists have pointed out that one of the best measures of success is to think in positive and constructive terms about students and administrators. Too many professors struggle to overcome a series of destructive messages, such as, "Most students care only about their grades," or "My department head knows little about teaching and is not interested in my scholarly interests," or "Administration doesn't think undergraduate teaching is important."

   Whenever possible (a) trust, respect and forgive students for not being perfect; (b) give administrators the benefit of the doubt when they do things you don't understand or can't explain; (c) don't get upset about matters you have no control over; and (d) don't concern yourself with things that don't concern you.

7. Make the most of relationships. Choosing to believe in your students is one of the greatest gifts you can give to yourself. This response helps you experience the good in them, which in turn allows you to think positive thoughts and say constructive things. In similar tones, cultivating pictures of administrators in complimentary terms helps activate your mind's relaxation response. When you choose to cultivate these pictures, your life will change because you will experience joy in the process.

Experiencing and communicating the joy that comes from your role as teacher isn't hard work. But it does require that you take control of your mind and what you think.

Flick is a professor in the Department of Communication.