About this time last
year, I investigated the possibility of teaching University students as a
part-time lecturer. I was accepted to teach two separate marketing courses,
beginning last fall. When those went well, I was offered to teach two more
courses in the winter semester. The final day of classes wrapped up yesterday.
As a solo marketing practitioner
who must assess a breadth of information each day, I am acutely aware of how
limited my range of experience can be. I know what I know, and I read as much
as I can, but nothing matches the benefit of shared human experience and
knowledge. I expected to learn as much from my students as they learned from
me, and that expectation has proven to be accurate.
My “day job” focuses on
brand development, which is the act of distilling the entirety of an
organization’s assets into a few core ideas, before sharing those ideas through
focused goals, plans and objectives. Teaching is similar: in a world of
options, the trick is to deliver focused learning in a compressed time frame - to
choose and deliver the most relevant information within the confines of a
single University course. It’s a challenging task, but it is exciting too –
especially when you “get it right.”
Strategy is a fancy term
for planning, and good plans require accurate, relevant information. Marketing
professionals have to understand current trends as fully as they must know
theories, tools, tactics and best practices. I can tell you that engaging in a
structured dialogue with hundreds of marketing students will sharpen your mind
better than any book, video, or colleague discussion can. Part-time teaching
provides very little monetary compensation, but that was never the point – my
experience has demonstrated that teaching provides so much more.
A few faculty members
have moaned to me some negative clichés about “Millennials,” but my experience
has proven that today’s students are uniformly smart, applied, focused, and practical
about their future. To suggest anything less does these students a great
disservice, and proves that you aren’t paying attention (or are clinging too
tightly to fading skills and credentials). Today’s University students know
what they can offer. They understand that they have a lot left to learn, they
embrace a spirit of lifelong learning, and they are realistic about how their
skills will connect to future opportunities. I can’t say the same thing about
peers in my age group. It would be easy to be threatened by their competence
and confidence, but I choose to be inspired by them – especially when they are
so generous in sharing what they believe. Teaching and learning should always
flow both ways, and these students are proving to be fantastic teachers.
As I look back on a
whirlwind academic year, I am genuinely surprised to have a year of University
teaching added to my list of accomplishments. A calendar year ago, I didn’t
even think it could be an option. It has certainly been a time-consuming
avocation (especially with preparation and grading), but I wouldn’t change a
thing. I hope to add a few courses of teaching to my professional calendar for
the foreseeable future.
If you are an expert in
your field, I strongly recommend that you share your knowledge, without any thought
to the return-on-investment. I strongly believe that your investment of time in
sharing your experience with students who are eager to learn - regardless of
monetary compensation - will provide a huge return on your own development as a
professional, and as a person.
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| Starting a Communications class with Sloan's "Underwhelmed" - to ensure nobody misses the point |
