To learn something in life, or anything for that matter, you must have help from a teacher. So says Bill Smoot, 74, author of a must-read book titled Conversations with Great Teachers. The book is a treasure-trove of information about teaching and learning.
Smoot presents the shared knowledge and wisdom of 51 teachers. Each of them gives him a firsthand account of what it takes to be a great educator. Through an extensive interview process he explores their knowledge of the dynamics of instruction and the benefits of learning.
Each of these gurus describes the process of acquiring the knowledge that made them experts in their specialty. They show that no matter the subject, the role of teachers is vital.
Smoot’s interviewees represent a range of educational environments including prep schools, middle schools, high schools, special education classrooms, the FBI academy, schools of divinity and Zen, and jail and prison meditation and yoga instruction, to name just a few. The diverse subjects they teach range from plumbing to theology and philosophy to ballet.
Smoot probes his interview subjects to jog their memories of favorite students and different teaching styles they experimented with in search of effective modes of instruction. As his questioning unveils the character of the educators he meets, the reader sees that all of them share a common core value — they care.
Smoot is a teacher of philosophy in practice and at heart. He also exhibits the value of caring that he found common to his interview subjects. However, he did not aspire to teaching early in life. In his college days he wanted to become an electrical engineer.
But at Northwestern he encountered a great teacher of philosophy, William Gass. He lost interest in electrical engineering and became a philosophy major, ultimately going into teaching as a profession. His chosen profession in turn led him to pen this book, Conversations with Great Teachers, a book of guidance for teachers.
Smoot was only 22 when he walked into his first classroom as a teacher’s assistant more than 50 years ago. Along with philosophy, he eventually also taught courses in history and English.
Smoot fell in love with philosophy at Northwestern but his first appreciation and love for teaching arose from examples set by his mother, whom he describes as a great teacher.
Today Smoot volunteers as an instructor with the Mt. Tamalpais College program at San Quentin, where he teaches philosophy. He was inspired to volunteer by Rodessa Jones, a teacher who serves the incarcerated population at the San Francisco jail. Smoot has been coming to San Quentin to teach philosophy for nine years.
In the book teachers talk about the techniques they use to inspire their students to learn. A good example is Doug Butler, a teacher with credentials as the 155th Fellow of the Worshipful Company of Farriers (FWCF), a group that dates back to the 14th century. A farrier is an expert on horseshoes.
Butler has also been inducted into the International Horseshoeing Hall of Fame at the Kentucky Derby Museum.
He offers the following advice to teachers; “If you create an atmosphere of excellence, those who want to be excellent will rise to it. If you set a standard and they reach for that, they will get good.”
If you take the time to read Conversations with Great Teachers, you will gain an increased depth of knowledge and wisdom, and a deeper understanding of the mind of a teacher — and what makes great teachers great.