Work Worth Doing

I miss being a classroom teacher. Let me rephrase that—I miss seeing how the work I do directly impacts those around me in positive, meaningful ways. I absolutely love teaching the undergraduate students because of this. I can see and feel the positive difference I am having in their lives. But that is only three hours per week. What I struggle with is the amount of time I spend on “research.” Sitting in front of a computer looking for research, typing papers, and completing assignments does not fit my definition of being a productive, contributing member of society. It is not simply because I don’t like it. Instead, I sit there and think, “Do you know how many children I could be helping learn how to read in the six hours I was studying? Do you know how many teachers I could be helping craft their skills, but instead I am staring at a screen full of data trying to make sense of it?”

A few casual statements made by professors the past few weeks have also made me think about where I want this degree to take me upon graduation.

For example, after discussing an article where the researcher did his 20 plus years of research at a particular treatment facility, the professor adds, “It’s really neat if you can tie your research directly to an organization of some type. As researchers we would like to think or hope that the work we do and the papers we publish are making a difference, but you never know. When you work with an organization, you at least know you are making a difference in their lives.” We would like to “hope”? Right now, I am not happy with the “hope.” I need results—plain and simple. If it is not having a direct impact, I am not interested. There is too much real work to be done to settle for a “hope.”

Another professor reflected on how people in higher education tend to go about their research, “Instead of going into a school and asking the teachers what problems they have that they would like for us to research and help them with, we go in and present a problem we are interested in researching and hope that what we do turns into something.” This is so backwards in my mind! And I do think this is the case, maybe not for all, but for most. How many times do you hear people say, “When was the last time a professor stepped foot into a classroom/the real world?” I always tell my students that asking what is in the best interest of the teacher is an irrelevant question. What is in the best interest of the teacher should be what is in the best interest of the students. In the same respect, what needs to be interesting to those that research education needs to be the problems teachers are having in the classroom. Maybe this is why it is so hard for me to express my interests in research topics—I believe my interests as a researcher need to come from the problems people around me need help fixing. It has nothing to do, in essence, with my personal goals or interests. My goal is to directly help those around me. My interests are in using my knowledge, experiences, and work ethic to help teachers be better teachers so they can help students be better learners.

In 1995, Hart and Risley reflected on the research they had done and gave huge accolades to their mentor who taught them to “look directly at the world in order to learn how it really works and to concern ourselves with trying to solve the real problems of real people.”

This is the researcher I want to be. I am going to publish articles I feel are worth publishing. I am going to present on topics I feel are worth presenting. I am going to get my cognate in one worth getting. I will affiliate myself with organizations worthy of my affiliation. Not because a vitae needs to be filled with gold stars. Not because it will make me more marketable. Not because it will get me closer to a tenured position. Will this be frowned upon by some? To organizations with whom I am not a good fit, yes. But to those that “get” me, “get” my thinking, and “get” my drive and motivation—they would expect nothing less.

There is not a doubt in my mind that I am going to be a GREAT fit for an organization or university someday.