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Saturday, October 5, 2013

A Passion To Teach. Fifty-Eight Years of Humorous, Weird, and Engaging Tales


 

Author Richard Kowles is Distinguished Professor Emeritus in Biology at Saint Mary s University Minnesota in Winona, MN. He has taught for the past fifty-eight years at various levels, initially at the high school level and then at the University. Gaining his PhD. he carried on his career both in the research laboratory and the classroom.  Clear he loved both but he was most passionate about teaching.  Incidentally, he and I were colleagues for a few years teaching high school in small town Minnesota.

 “A Passion to Teach: Fifty-Eight Years of Humorous, Weird, & Engaging Tales”  is both a great memoir of growing up in tough circumstances and succeeding but also a warm and engaging  and full of  funny stories of learning to teach and being great at it.  “It’s been a wonderful career,” he said. “The students have kept me young and on my toes.”

I think what most appealed to me about this book was the fun that Kowles obviously had teaching. There was a passion there to help students learn and joy satisfaction when they did.

I know I enjoyed my work till the day I retired or as Kowles put “If you can’t have fun, maybe you should look somewhere else.”  If you or someone you know is interested in looking at a teaching career from the inside out or just plain a fun read, this might be the book for you.

6 comments:

Jo's World said...

Blessings on all the teachers who love to teach! My life has been touched by several of them, in wonderful ways. People I will never forget!

Jo in MN

David Oliver said...

It sounds great TB! My younger son after getting his Master's degree in English still did not know what he wanted to do. He took a job teaching part time just to make some money. It wasn't long before he said, "Dad, I really like teaching!"

I'm very glad some people love it. I can't do it. I taught an entry level computer night class once for adults and I hated it!

Montanagirl said...

My daughter teaches school in Alaska. She loves her job, the kids and the whole bit. The kids love her too. Every year she gets a dozen or more requests from parents for their child to be in her room.

Ien in the Kootenays said...

Good teachers are worth their weight in gold.

Zhoen said...

True of any job, really best to enjoy it, and find all the humor.

Anvilcloud said...

Sounds like a good read of someone who enjoyed life and his job.