By B. Eddie Bauman
This last semester of school has been the best. I have learned so much and have enjoyed every minute of it. All of the instructors that I have right now are truly wonderful and I look forward to each and every class. When I heard that two of my current instructors were resigning, I was devastated. Geoff Schmidt and Bob Dennison are both moving on to other colleges. I have learned so much from each of them. I’m so grateful that they were both here while I was able to take advantage of it.
This college has some wonderful instructors. I think that fact is often overlooked. I have been extremely impressed with the quality of the teaching here. I have never enjoyed school as much as I have here at IVCC – and our instructors are the reason why.
The person who has had the most influence on my academics is Rebecca Donna. She heads up the Criminal Justice program and is the most dynamic instructor I have ever witnessed. The most important thing that I will walk away with from her class has more to do with learning than it has to do with criminal justice. She is the one who taught me the difference between owning and borrowing information. If you really "learn" it – it’s yours to keep forever. If you memorize it for a test – it’s merely borrowed. There is a sense of empowerment that goes with knowledge. No one can ever take it away from you.
I have learned so much in so little time because of the wonderful faculty of IVCC.
Teaching can be such a thankless job when students care more about grades than about learning. Nobody goes into teaching for fame and fortune. The usually do it because they love it.
Gil Myers’ psychology class was the most "entertaining" class I’ve ever had. The man is hysterical! I felt like I was going to a comedy club three times a week to hear his latest routine. I learned so much from him and spent the whole time laughing. How many instructors can do that?
Dave Kuester is so knowledgeable about the theater it is mind-boggling. He is a wonderful teacher and director and his psychology background makes him the most understanding and kind person one could ever want to deal with.
Lou Caldwell is the biggest phony at the college. He walks around with a scowl on his face and always speaks like he’s angry. Don’t buy it for a minute! It’s all an act! He is always available to help any student who needs it. He is supportive and encouraging if you can look beyond his facade. He pretends to be a lion – but he’s really a lamb.
I dreaded History of Western Civilization, but my instructor, David Goldberg, was so enthusiastic that he got me more interested than I ever thought I could be. Mike Pecharek did the same thing with Music Appreciation. I find myself actually wanting to go to an opera! Between Tom Tunnell and Mary Black, I have found out that, although math is still the most frightening of all subjects, I can actually do it (with extreme caution). I could go on and on but I’m afraid it would be too much to print.
I won’t miss the parking in distant lands, or the inaccessible women’s rooms, but I know I will miss the instructors here. They have offered us all so much knowledge and I’m not one to turn down something good when it’s there for the taking. We all paid the same amount of money for our courses, but some of us got more for our money than did others. When I go on to a four-year college I’m taking everything I learned here with me. I’ll sell back most of my books at the end of the year like everyone else, but the stuff that was in them is mine to keep.
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