Obama: teacher turned president

I just moved in with a roommate this past July. One of the many perks to having one of my lady pals as a roommie is that she gets the New York Times Magazine. Back in September, I asked her to hold off recyling the issue entitled It's All About Teaching. It only took me until November to get around to reading it. . . right after Barack Obama was elected as our President. Interestingly, the magazine contained an article entitled, Case Study: What Barack Obama's teaching methods tell us about what kind of president he might make. Author Alexandra Starr discusses Obama's ten-year teaching stint at the University of Chicago Law School. Starr quotes past students in this article. As I read through the opinions and perceptions of students, my feelings of joy about our president elect were heightened. Some of the thoughts that most resonated with me are below:

"a student in Obama's constitutional saw class in 2001. . . was impressed by his teacher's ability to see both sides of an argument" (77).

Obama taught a class that a previous student called "a catalyst to examine biases you might have developed throughout your own life" (79).

"Obama kept his own thoughts on the topics he was teaching mostly to himself" (79). This was emphasized as a former student recalled, "He is not good at wearing his opinions on his sleeve" (79).

I want the person who leads this country to possess the ability to see issues from multiple angles. I want the person who leads this country to force us to look at ourselves objectively. I want the person who leads this country to be unmovable in the face of adversity. Obama has shown these things in his teaching, and I think these will be transferred to his presidency.

This article inspired me to think about the qualities of my past teachers, and it made me think about the qualities I want to have as a teacher. What qualities do I need to be a good teacher and a good leader? What will my students say years from now?