In August 1989, I joined the Department of Marketing at the University of North Texas. During the time that I have taught here, I have evolved as an educator, a researcher, and a person.

My philosophy of teaching is rooted in the deeply held conviction that students are important, and they deserve at least the same respect that we professors expect from them. By many accounts, they are really the most important constituents of an educational institution. They are our employers, our customers, and our raison d'etre.

I believe that institutions of higher learning are the principal gateways through which societies acquire knowledge and wisdom. Being able to contribute to society by teaching at a university brings me great personal satisfaction. By remaining dedicated to improvements in pedagogical methods, styles and content, I strive to remain fresh. I hope this enhances my performance as an educator and inspires my students to pursue learning.

In the spirit of continuous improvement, I try something new each semester. The educational environment is such a crucial part of the lives of our young people that it must necessarily be as dynamic as the world they live in. As an educator, I feel it is my responsibility, to a certain degree, to compete with all the stimuli in my students' lives for a slice of their attention.

As a professor, it is easy to be supercilious and full of one's own self. Given the cultural environment that surrounds us, the natural tendency is to slide down that path. But a few moments' reflection on the following issues always sets me right. We live in a world in which we meet more "strangers" than we meet people whom we truly know as individuals. Most of these people do not care about what I have to say, and have neither the time nor the inclination to advise me on any matter. In our modern lives, politeness comes bundled with a certain amount of aloofness, perhaps for a very good reason. Nevertheless, we must walk around within our facades to the extent we can, careful not to affront any sensibilities. It is only in rare situations that we have the freedom to interact with other individuals beyond polite utterances. The class room is one such rare situation.

I am usually overcome with a deep sense of humility every time I encounter a new class of students who are eager to engage in an intellectual interchange. Here are fresh, young minds, some with IQs higher than it will be genetically possible for me to ever achieve, waiting to hear from me. At that point, I have the choice of spending the rest of the semester "instructing" strangers or interacting with real people instead. It impresses me enormously to know that these students trust me with their time, attention, interest, and a part of their future. What goes on in the class room, regardless of how much they like it or dislike it, will necessarily affect them in small but meaningful ways for the rest of their lives. It is critical for me to be able to live up to that responsibility. Consequently, I take my profession seriously. Admittedly, I am not anything close to a surgeon who makes life and death decisions all the time. But, my behavior and performance influence lives in ways that are subtle yet enduring. The collective performances of those in my profession determine the health and happiness of nations and generations.

Eventually, all education is self-education. Professional educators only find creative ways of facilitating this process. Children learn to walk not because they are taught to, but because of who they are. But since the environment makes such an important impact on how well we acquire our life skills and knowledge, I have to play an important role in the learning process. At one level, all human beings are educators and students at the same time, all the time. There are significant overlaps in my roles of a professor, a parent, a spouse, a son, a friend, and even an anonymous account logged onto the Internet. There are things of considerable importance that I learn in every one of those roles and, in almost all of them, I have something of some significance to contribute.

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It is of paramount importance for me to be an effective facilitator of the learning process. Toward that end, I try to do my best. One of my colleagues tells his students, "Learn in spite of the professor." While I would never wish any student the misfortune of an educator who is an impediment to the learning process, I like to instill this value in them. I will not be there to teach my own son all the things I would like to. Nor do I think I should. At best, I can only set his compass right, if at all. If I can teach him the joys of learning, I will have taught him the best lesson of all.

I strive to give my students more than just the content of the courses I teach. Much of the substance encapsulated within the table of contents of the textbooks will become obsolete shortly. But if the students acquire a sense of interest and the skills to satisfy their curiosity, that will be something which they will use forever.

A substantial part of my pedagogical effort is devoted to having students acquire a sense of comfort, mastery and joy in the subject matter. One segment of the course work is dedicated to a project in which the students have near complete freedom in expressing their sense and understanding of the subject matter. The project presentations are typically very diverse, and for my students and for myself, they turn out to be exciting and enriching. These projects are graded, in part, by the entire class and I take peer evaluations into account in computing the project grades. The best performances in these project presentations are recognized in an "award ceremony" toward the end of the semester.

I urge my students to stay on top of the most recent developments in the field on a continual basis. For that reason, I have dedicated a world wide web home page to assisting students to identify and locate useful information resources on the Internet. I use the world wide web to distribute handouts and announcements to students as well.

Every semester, half way through the course, I conduct a detailed survey in the class in order to gauge students' perceptions of and reactions to the whole course experience. Later, I discuss the results of the survey with my students and justify the reasons for those changes that I decide to incorporate and those which I do not. Many of my colleagues have borrowed this idea. Some have even requested my assistance in incorporating a feedback mechanism in their classes. I find this extremely flattering.

Although I strive to be the best educator I can be, I am fortunate to teach in an environment in which there is an abundance of exceptional teachers. I make sure that I learn at least one new skill every semester from my outstanding colleagues.

I believe learning should be fun. With some assignments, I try to include an amusing, apropos quotation or two. I do not think witticisms come to me naturally. Nevertheless, I have attended seminars organized by Toastmasters International on humor in public speaking in the hopes that I might learn a few things that may make me a more endearing teacher in the class room. In this regard, I know I have a long way to go.

Finally, I identify with my students in so far as I believe that I will personally continue to be a student for the rest of my life. In addition to reading about and doing research in the area of pedagogical development, I try to publish in the area devoted to nurturing excellence in teaching. I also sit on the board of a college wide teaching circle (a committee assembled to research the development of pedagogy in institutions of higher learning).

As a young person, it was not my ambition to be a college professor. However, given my personality, I doubt I will find as much fulfillment in any other career, least of all as a driver of steam-rollers (which is what my life's ambition was when I was five).

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