Insight 2nd Ed_Brian Ragen

subjects as well as literary analysis because the common knowledge that you might expect was simply not there. The other thing was that I drew more on emerging technologies. While I never taught an online- only class, I added an online element to my classes, which had great advantages. What are two key behaviors/personality traits that allow you to be effective in your role? One was listening to my students and building on their interests, and the other was insisting that they pay attention to the subjects that interested them. You have to listen to the student and if possible, connect the material you’re teaching with the student. What is the most important issue/challenge you are dealing with in your industry right now? Aside from the practical issues of how to reopen or provide distance learning during the pandemic, the most important issue is to preserve education that is not immediately vocational. The idea that a college education is supposed to prepare you for a particular job has become too widespread. In fact, I would say that a college education is meant to prepare you for a lifetime, not just of working, but of being an active citizen and a flourishing person. How do you feel your industry has changed/evolved over time? There is a passion for literary theory that questions the very possibility of meaning, and that’s faded. We don’t have to talk about the absence of presence anymore, and that has been a good thing. We have been able to return to trying to understand authors instead of creating strategies for constructing our own meanings. Unfortunately, the field, like many fields, has become much more of a political minefield, so that any well- meaning person can be easily dismissed as insensitive though they have not actually said anything wrong. What new innovations or technologies do you feel will shape the future of your industry? It is easy to do research online, but the trouble is that students do not automatically distinguish one source “ What heartens me the most is when I find a love for learning remains where I’ve planted it. ” Second Edition | Marquis Who ’ s Who Insight 9 from another, a primary source from a secondary source, a reputable source of information that has been checked by editors from sources that have been checked through peer review. It all looks the same on the screen, and that is something students have to be trained to look out for. What excites you the most about your industry? It depends on how things go. I hope that the lockdown and forced homeschooling experience shows people how much work teachers and professors do now that they have had to try doing it themselves. Some people are wonderful homeschoolers but most are not cut out for it. What heartens me the most is when I find a love for learning remains where I’ve planted it. In my work with the VA, I am now reading to a veteran who wanted to start with easy reading because after his strokes, he was afraid he had lost the learning and he wanted to brush up. It was still so important to him to be a well-read person. That was really inspiring. Also, my profession allows me to read the good stuff over and over.