The thing I love about teaching is the exact thing I love about sports: it's unpredictable. Just as you never know when a no-hitter is coming or when a three-point binge is going to take place, neither do you know when you are going to be asked to "reinvent" yourself and learn a new skill set. That's one of the great things about higher education; we teach AND experience life-long learning!
When I was hired to teach journalism, I was coming in primarily from the "other side." The vast majority of my experience had been in public relations. Sure, I had spent four years in college as a freelance sports writer and yes, my graduate assistantship was as a business manager for the campus newspaper. But I spent 15 years in sports information. So, when I was hired, I refocused my point of view and began to teach students to report and write in an unbiased fashion.
Necessity being the mother of invention, I quickly learned about broadcasting (I always thought hey got to play with the cool toys anyway). My broadcast experience consisted of working WITH broadcasters and serving as a color commentator. But I knew if we were going to begin web casting sporting events and if I wanted to fully serve our journalism students in the converged media world, my comfort zone was going to have to expand.
Well, because our students have done such a great job in a short period of time, our dean and chair have charged me with finding a grant or donor(s) to help us run fiber and install an upgraded server in our studio. I've also been given the task of working with our local cable provider to re-establish our dormant public access educational channel. Guess now I get to learn about television programming. Thank goodness I work with some supportive and highly skilled individuals who can help guide me on my way.
Now, anybody have about 30 grand they'd like to contribute to the cause?
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